Hyderabad: 15-year-old tribal girl with rare tumour between heart, lungs gets new lease for life at KIMS

The girl, daughter of daily wage workers, was diagnosed with a rare tumor located between her heart and lungs and a large hole (Atrial Septal Defect, ASD) in the wall separating the chambers of her heart

Hyderabad: A 15-year-old tribal girl from Khammam, who had a rare tumour lodged between her heart and lungs, and a large hole in her heart wall, got a new lease of life after getting successfully operated by surgeons at KIMS, Kondapur.

The girl, daughter of daily wage workers, was diagnosed with a rare tumor located between her heart and lungs and a large hole (Atrial Septal Defect, ASD) in the wall separating the chambers of her heart. The congenital defect in her heart went undetected because of lack of literacy and awareness among her parents.

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She was referred to KIMS Kondapur with breathlessness. On examination, she had mediastinal teratoma, a rare tumor situated in a complex location between the lungs and in front of the heart.

“We first performed surgery to remove the tumor, which had already invaded the heart’s outer layer and partially adhered to the lungs. Its complete removal required excising a small portion of lungs. Fortunately, this did not affect lung function. Later, using the heart’s outer layer, we repaired the large ASD,” Dr. Nisarga, Chief Cardiothoracic Surgeon, and Dr. C. Rohan Reddy, Minimal Invasive Onco-Thoracic Surgeon, who conducted the surgery, said.