SUM Neurosurgeons Operate On 8-Month-Old Baby With Huge Back Protrusion

Bhubaneswar: Neurosurgeons at the Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital here successfully operated on an 8-month-old baby boy who had been born with a huge meningomyelocele — a protrusion in the back caused by a congenital defect — which is believed to be the biggest recorded anywhere in the world.

“The baby came to us with the large protrusion which is known as giant meningomyelocele, measuring about 4,300 sq cm in volume. It is the largest I have seen,” said Prof. (Dr) Ashok Kumar Mahapatra, eminent neurosurgeon under whose supervision the surgery was done.

The swelling was small at birth, but with several hospitals that the family visited saying it couldn’t be treated, the delay resulted in it growing bigger, informed Prof. Mahapatra, Principal Advisor (Health Sciences) to Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan Deemed to be University.

He explained that that one month after pregnancy, the placenta grows to about an inch and is known as neural tube. Normally it grows to become the spinal cord, but if it ruptures, it leaks fluid.

The fluid-containing sac with neural tissues protrude from the back forming such a growth, said Prof. (Dr) Mahapatra, who has performed around 4,000 such surgeries.

Describing this case as a rare one, he said: “We had come across a case of meningomyelocele at AIIMS New Delhi in 2015 which measured around 2,300 sq cm in volume. But it needs further study as we had not come across such a large protrusion in published cases.”

The surgery, which lasted nearly four hours, was done more than three weeks ago and the baby is out of danger. But the medical condition had caused the baby to get paralysed waist below.

Prof. (Dr) Soubhagya Panigrahi, Head of Department of Neurosurgery in the hospital, said such surgeries were done routinely at IMS and SUM Hospital. This case was done under the state government’s Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY), he informed.

Prof. (Dr) Ram Chandra Deo, Neurosurgeon in SUM, said there was need for public awareness about this medical condition.

“As most healthcare facilities were reluctant to do the surgery as there was possibility of much blood loss, the problem got neglected,” he said.