A 44-year-old Oman woman’s leg was saved from getting amputated after Indian doctors performed a rare surgery at Apollo Cancer Institute in Chennai to remove a football-sized malignant cartilaginous tumour. Maryam Salim Said Al Isaii from Oman was referred to Apollo Cancer Institute by Ministry of Health, Oman, after various hospitals in Thailand, Hongkong, London and Bengaluru suggested amputation of lower limb. The patient was affected due to Chondrosarcoma, a type of tumour that affects the bones and joints.

Maryam was brought to the city hospital with an unbearable swelling in her right leg making her immobile for three months. “She was diagnosed to have recurrent chondrosarcoma, a type of bone cancer tumour, and was complex in size,” said Dr Mayilvahanan Natarajan, orthopaedic oncologist, Apollo Cancer Institute. A team of doctors led by Dr Natarajan performed wide resection of tumour and custom mega prothesis to remove the tumour and saved the limb. Several doctors suggested to amputate the limb since the tumour was complex in size and encasing major blood vessels, artery and nerves.

“The surgery took eight hours. The patient attempted to walk on the second day of the surgery with the help of physiotherapist and a walker,” said Dr Natarajan. The patient was operated three years ago at Mumbai, before reoccurrence in 2016. “They had removed only the tumour. But now, we have removed the surrounding part, and the bone and indigenous prosthesis is placed. The tumour weighed 550gm and it took three hours to remove,” Dr Natarajan added. The patient is now ready to be discharged and the cost of the treatment was 15 to 20 lakhs. The patient is now stable with active ankle and toe movements and is mobilised with walker support.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 15, 2018 09:51 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).