‘Largest’ brain tumour removed

Success yet to get an official stamp but doctors in Delhi hospital claim it is a record, reports Jaya Shroff.

A massive tumour that operating surgeons claim is among the world’s biggest was successfully removed from the skull of a 50-year-old woman, Sugra Bibi, at the Sir Gangaram Hospital here. Surprisingly, the tumour grew within the skull and did not harm the brain. Also, there were no symptoms till a few weeks before surgery.

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Jammu resident Sugra Bibi was admitted to the hospital on September 7 last year after she complained of pain in the left leg along with severe headache, vomiting and blurred vision. Subsequent scans revealed a large tumour in the skull. Although the success of the operation is yet to be published at a peer reviewed journal, doctors at the Gangaram Hospital are claiming that it was the ‘biggest’ in the world.

“Review of literature shows that the intra-cranial tumour measuring 16cmx10cm x8cm is possibly the world’s largest such tumour,” said Dr Manish Vaish, a member of the team which carried out the operation. “Since there was no growth outside the brain, I was shocked to know that it was so big in size. I only wanted to live and get back to my kids,” said Bibi.

Dr Patir said that the major technical challenge before the neurosurgeons was its location, as it was growing next to the part of the brain involved with limb movement. The surgery for the complete removal of the tumour took about six hours.