Mumbai, Feb 21: In a rare feat, doctors at the civic-run Nair Hospital successfully removed a tumour weighing 1.873 kg from the brain of a 31-year-old man after a seven-hour-long operation.

According to neurosurgeon Dr Trimurti Nadkarni, the tumour is the largest of its kind in the world.

Santlal Pal, a cloth vendor, was operated upon yesterday by a team led by Dr Trimurti Nadkarni, Head of Neurosurgery, Nair Hospital, located in Central Mumbai.

"Pal was admitted in the Department of Neurosurgery with progressive swelling of scalp, heaviness, headaches and diminution of vision in both eyes since the last one year. On examination, he was found with a firm scalp swelling measuring 30x30x20 cms," the civic body said in a statement.

After conducting various tests, the doctors came to know that the tumour invaded into the brain on both sides of the midline through the skull bone.

Explaining the high-risk surgery, Dr Nadkarni said the patient required transfusion of 11 units of blood.

"He was on a ventilatory support for three days. His tumour was totally excised along with involved skull bone and that which had invaded into the brain," he said.

"The tumour weighed 1.873 kgs which is the largest weight of a brain tumour to be excised successfully in the world. The weight of a similar case reported earlier was 1.4 kgs," he said.

Dr. Nadkarni said such large tumours are rare and are a surgical challenge.

"There is a heavy blood loss and this requires great team skill in perioperative monitoring for a successful result. The patient has made good recovery and is now ambulatory and on full diet. He feels relieved of a large burden on his head," Dr Nadkarni said.