SLG Doctors save life of six-months baby girl born with a “head-sized” swelling near the brain
- Baby appeared to have a second head, and had to be operated on to save life
The baby was born in rural India at 37 weeks of gestation by the Caesarean section and weighed 3 kilograms with normal cry. The baby was born with large and tense (34*40*38 cms-sized) cystic multilobulated swelling arising from back of head and swelling was increasing in size since birth. It was larger than the size of the head itself.
Commenting on the procedure on the child, Dr. H. Raghavendra, Consultant Neurosurgeon and Spine Surgeon, SLG Hospitals said, baby had delayed milestone like unable to hold her head, she was unable to track objects and light. The Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) revealed a large encephalocele with heniating neural tissue with Hydrocephalus and syringomyelia in cervical region.”
“A surgery was planned to treat hydrocephalus and to excise the sac from the head. The most challenging aspect in such patients is during the placement of children for anaesthesia management. However, the challenge was taken up and the team of experts ensure the procedure was done with great precision to ensure the deformity in the child is removed by reducing the size of the sac. Now, one month after the surgery, the child is doing fine and is all set to lead an active life in the years ahead,” added Dr. H.Raghavendra.
The child’s parents are extremely happy with the outcome and have thanked the team of Doctors who treated the patient, and ensure she gets a normal life hereafter. Generally, such a surgery is performed during infancy to place the protruding tissues back into the skull, remove the sac, and correct the associated craniofacial abnormalities. Even large protrusions can often be removed without causing major functional disability.
Hydrocephalus associated with encephaloceles require surgical treatment with a shunt, and the same was performed in this case.
