PRAYAGRAJ: A senior neurosurgeon of Prayagraj, Dr Prakash Khaitan, will soon achieve another major milestone in the field of medicine.
After succeeding in removing a 14 cm long lump by performing a complex operation on the spinal cord of a 12-year-old girl, the rare operation was sent for registration in the Guinness Book of World Records.
The surgery might earn Dr Khaitan a second entry in the prestigious Guinness World Records, as no one reportedly claimed to have successfully removed a 14 cm cyst from the spine before. His first entry into the records was in 2011 when he removed 296 cysts from the brain of an eight-year-old girl.
While talking to the media on Thursday, Dr Khaitan said, “The length of the girl's spinal cord was 40-42 cm, and it had a cyst which was 14 cm long (which means it covered around 30% of the length of the spinal cord), and it was on September 12 that my team and I performed this complex operation for 11 hours and successfully removed the cyst.”
The spinal cord was not damaged during and after the rare surgery, and because of its uniqueness and successful accomplishment, this rare operation was sent for registration in the Guinness Book of World Records, he added.
The patient, a resident of a village under Jigna Police Station in Mirzapur district, initially complained of weakness in her hands and legs in February 2024. "Within weeks, the problem worsened, and my daughter, a Class 3 student, lost her ability to walk. She had to drop out of school. As her condition deteriorated and she became bedridden, we consulted doctors in Prayagraj but saw no improvement. Eventually, we approached Dr Prakash Khaitan in August," shared Meenu Singh, the mother of the girl.
After conducting an MRI and other tests, surgery was performed on September 12. "Now, she can move her legs and turn on the bed," said Pari’s mother.
Talking about the complexity of the operation, Dr Khaitan said, “In the complex operation, the middle part of the girl's spinal cord was cut out and removed, and the bone was joined back after removing the cyst.” The operation team included Dr GP Mishra, Dr Rafe, Dr Manoj, and Dr Ashok, he added.
Remarkably, the girl's spinal cord remained undamaged, and she is expected to fully recover and begin walking again within three months.