ACI Cumballa Hill Hospital performed a rare and complex surgery successfully after it is back on its feet

by Suman Gupta

Saved Lungs Of A 47-year-old Omani Patient By Removing A Whooping 5 Kg Tumor (12x 18 cm) From The Chest Cavity

~The patient complained of Breathlessness, Cough, Inability to Eat, Walk or Sleep~

Mumbai: A team led by Dr. Dhairyasheel Savant, Consultant Surgical Oncologist, ACI Cumballa Hill Hospital, Mumbai, helped a 47-year-old Omani patient to breathe freely, by removing a 5kg tumor from her lungs.  A left thoracotomy with excision of the extrapulmonary mass was performed on her by saving her lungs.

HS Alzadjali, (Name changed) Sultanate of Oman, was living a peaceful life until she has diagnosed with a lesion a sarcoma on her right thigh in 2007. The patient underwent surgery, and also took chemotherapy and radiotherapy after which she again started living a normal life. But, two months ago, her world turned upside down, when she suddenly became breathless, couldn’t eat, walk or sleep properly. Also, she would constantly keep coughing which alarmed the doctors in Oman. The patient’s x-ray revealed that there was no lung tissue but a mass present in the Lt chest cavity that restricted her from doing her daily activities which could be due to the spread from the original disease.

However, due to the lack of resources and expertise in Oman, the patient was referred to ACI Cumballa Hill Hospital, Mumbai, in a semi-emergency state, wherein, Dr. Dhairyasheel Savant helped her live life, the way she also wanted to.

Dr. Dhairyasheel Savant, Consultant Surgical Oncologist, ACI Cumballa Hill Hospital, Mumbai, said, “In the hospital, a PET was performed scan showed that there is a mass present, restricted inside the chest cavity which had compressed her lungs. Moreover, the disease was not present elsewhere in her body”. Hence, the patient was a good candidate for the surgery. Left thoracotomy with excision of the extrapulmonary mass was performed on the patient by opening  the chest cavity, on October 4, 2019, by a team led by Dr. Savant with Dr. Majeed at the newly reopened state of the art  ACI Cumballa Hill hospital. This was a very complex surgery and the first of its kind in this hospital.

He added, “An incision in the chest wall between the ribs was made and the mass with the part of the lung that was stuck to the disease removed. The right lung which was compressed started expanding owing to the removal of the tumor weighing 5 kg (12x 18 cm).  The surgery lasted for two-and-a-half hours, and the patient was discharged on the 7^th day after the surgery. She is fine now and has been prescribed chemotherapy. In such cases, patients fail to seek timely treatment or require specialized treatment centers for such surgeries. But, she was lucky that she came at the right time and the right institution.”

Patient HS Alzadjali, Sultanate of Oman, (name changed) said, “Earlier, I would eat properly. But, two months ago, I started vomiting frequently. People would look at me and ask is there is something wrong with me? I was fatigued, wasn’t feeling good within, and had become weak. Furthermore, I also took medications to get rid of that nagging cough but nothing seemed to do the trick. My husband would also be awake during my sleepless nights, and try to make me comfortable. Though it was a difficult period for the family, and me, I didn’t give up. Now, after removing the tumor, I feel good and am pain-free. I can walk, talk, eat, and sleep like before. I am thankful to the hospital and the team of doctors and staff at ACI -Cumballa Hill hospital for giving me a new lease of life.”