Tumour removed from trachea of boy

A tumour in the windpipe (trachea) of a 16-year-old boy from Adilabad was successfully removed by doctors at Gandhi Hospital.

The boy came to the hospital with severe breathlessness and fatigue. Doctors stated that he was having breathing problems for the past six months. Earlier, when he had come for a check-up he was diagnosed as suffering from severe cold, cough and asthma. Despite treatment and medication his condition did not improve.

The family then took him to a private hospital in the city where the diagnostic scan showed a tumour in the windpipe. The tumour was in the centre where the windpipe divides into the left and the right lung. Due to the tumour, oxygen was not reaching the lungs and hence the boy was suffering from breathlessness.

The boy was brought to Gandhi Hospital by the family as the cost was too high in the private hospitals and they could not afford it.

Dr Bahnu Mallareddy, anaesthesiologist who attended on him explained, “The biggest challenge was to remove the tumor. As it was placed in the centre where the wind pipe divides into right and left lung we had to use instruments that are used for premature babies. We used these instruments to pull the tumor out. The operation took six-and-ahalf-hours.”

The boy responded well to treatment and is stable now. Doctors state that it was a genetic abnormality, and the tumour was present since birth. The laboratory reports showed that it was a noncancerous tumour.

THE TUMOUR was located in the centre where the windpipe divides into the left and the right lung. Due to the tumour, oxygen was not reaching the lungs and hence the boy was suffering from breathlessness.