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Agra, February 27, 2021: In an extremely high-risk surgery, doctors at Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket, operated upon a 48-years-old woman from Agra, successfully removing an enormously large malignant abdominal tumor. She sought medical care at Max Hospital, Saket after being turned down by various medical centers elsewhere because the risk to her life was potentially high.
Speaking at a press conference on raising awareness about cancer here, with a focus on this case, Dr. Sanjeev Kumar, Consultant, Surgical Oncology, Gastrointestinal Oncology and Dr. Harit Chaturvedi, Chairman, Max Institute of Cancer Care, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket elaborated on the details of the case.
Dr. Sanjeev Kumar, the lead surgeon said, “The patient came to us with a very large bulging abdomen and complained of difficulty in eating and breathing. Upon reviewing her scans with the entire team, we found the tumor to be extremely large as it was filling her entire abdominal cavity, and furthermore, compressing all the vital organs. It had engulfed both the kidneys. In fact, it was so large that there was hardly any space left in the abdomen.”
Explaining why they chose this course of treatment, Dr. Asit Arora, Principal Consultant, Surgical Oncology, Gastrointestinal Oncology added, “For Sarcoma, surgery is the only hope, since other modalities do not work. After giving it much thought we planned to surgically remove the tumor and that was a major surgery lasting a total of 10 hours. We had to remove her right kidney along with the tumour which had a 52 cm mass and weighed 15 kgs which is just equivalent to a mother carrying sixtuplets in her womb. The patient tolerated the procedure well and recovered well.” He also said that, “Abdominal malignancies often present with vague symptoms. For early detection we need to have a high index suspicion for cancer. Detailed imaging & endoscopy procedure are critical for proper diagnosis and staging. ”
Dr. Ankur Bahl, Senior Consultant, Medical Oncology, said, “Biopsy of the cancer is the most important step in diagnosing and deciding on the course of treatment for patient. In retroperitoneal sarcomas, immunotherapy has led to paradigm shift in management by increasing efficacy of treatment and at the same time reducing side effects. However, in liposarcoma, only surgery followed by radiation is done in most cases.”
Dr. Shubham Jain, Consultant, Surgical Oncology, Breast & Thoracic Oncology, who comes for OPD to Agra, on third Wednesday every month, emphasized that it is only because of extensive pre-operative workup and advancements in technology, that a major surgery such as this one, can be undertaken with precision and confidence.
Commenting on the success of the surgery, Dr. Harit Chaturvedi said, when we discussed in our tumour board, my colleague, Dr. Sanjeev asked, 'if not us who will take this challenge?' This changed everything. We sought support from almost all quatarnary care services in the hospital. Teams of anesthesia, intensive care, pulmo, nephro, cardiac worked as one team. Meticulous planning and behind the scenes 24x7 support from all, were the key elements for success.
We are grateful to the almighty and the family for believing in us.
The patient, Pooja Goswami, who was also present at the press conference sharing her experience said, “My morale was at an all-time low when the cancer was diagnosed, and things turned bitter when I was turned down by various medical centers for treatment. I had lost all hope as all of them cited high-risk to my life if they went ahead with the operation. My family and I then approached Max Institute of Cancer Care, where the highly experienced team of doctors not only evaluated my case, but also agreed to surgically remove my tumour. And here I am now leading a healthy life. I am confident that more and more people can benefit and get healed if they are made aware of the various cancer treatments and new technologies which can prove to be a boon for all those grappling with life and death situations.”
