Salem: Doctors in Salem Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College and Hospital (SGMKMCH) have successfully removed a non-malignant tumor, weighing one kilogram, from the chest cavity of a 35-year-old woman.
SGMKMCH dean Dr R Balajinathan told TOI that the destitute woman from Namagiripettai in Namakkal district was admitted to hospital on December 14 after she developed severe chest pain and breathing difficulties. Her CT scan showed a huge mass in the chest cavity. It was compressing her heart, lungs and trachea.
The team led by the head of cardio-thoracic department Dr Pon A Rajarajan performed the complicated surgery with the support of other surgeons, including Dr K Sivasankaran and Dr Subash Chandru, on December 16.
“The whole mass was excised in total along with the diseased right upper lobe,” the dean said, adding that the mass was later reported as epithelioid hemangioendothelioma which is a rare non-malignant vascular tumor and chance of becoming malignant is intermediate.
“Only 500 cases have been reported in the world so far and it’s the first case to be reported in the state,” the dean added.
Dr Rajarajan said that the cost of the surgery would be Rs 5 lakh in the private hospitals. But the surgery was performed in the hospital free of cost under Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme.