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| A 20-day-old female infant before and after surgery. —Photo courtesy of HCM City Paediatrics Hospital 1 |
Viet Nam News
HCM CITY — Doctors at HCM City Paediatrics Hospital 1 have performed surgery to remove a large tumour extending from the neck to the abdomen of a 20-day-old female infant.
Dr Đào Trung Hiếu, deputy head of the HCM City Paediatrics Hospital 1, said on Tuesday that the infant was brought to the hospital on October 6 from Từ Dũ Hospital in HCM City. She had a high fever and a tumour measuring 10cm x 10cm x 5cm in size.
After being admitted to the HCM City Paediatrics Hospital 1, the tumour began to swell and the baby’s fever had not abated.
A CAT scan showed that a vascular anomaly of veins and lymph vessels, a rare condition in infants, had caused the tumour. The tumour eventually grew to 15cm x 25cm x 10cm.
Initially, the hospital’s doctors thought the surgery would be life-threatening as prolonged anesthesia can cause the body temperature to fall to a dangerous level.
The risk of uncontrolled bleeding during surgery could also be fatal, said Dr Hiếu, adding that the motor nerves in the left arm could have been injured, possibly causing paralysis in the arm.
However, because of the seriousness of the case, on October 26, the doctors decided to perform the surgery, which lasted eight hours. They were able to successfully remove the tumour, which weighed one kilo.
The infant is now recovering in the hospital’s intensive care unit. However, the tumour could return as several cysts were left after surgery, according to Dr Hiếu. —VNS
