Chennai: City doctors remove tumour, help Nigerian woman breathe easy

Chennai: A 30-year-old Nigerian woman, who had difficulty swallowing due to a tumour exerting pressure on her heart, is now smiling after doctors at a city hospital performed a complex surgery on her.

Doctors suspected that gastric disorder before they found she had a large tumour near the heart. Realising the complexity of the situation, hospitals in Nigeria refused to operate on her.

When Ighoko approached Frontier Lifeline Hospital, doctors told her that it was possible to remove the mass.

"Tests showed the tumour was outside the heart and it was compressing the oesophagus, lungs and heart, causing difficulty in swallowing, breathlessness and lowering her cardiac pressure," Dr Sanjay Cherian said. Her symptoms had become so severe that she couldn't walk and found it hard to breathe.

The patient was wheeled in for an emergency surgery on November 12 and biopsy revealed she had a rare tumour called Liposarcoma of the posterior Mediastinum.

"The tumour was 18cm wide and was attached to the spine. Only around 100 such cases have been documented in the world so far," he said.

In a surgery lasting four hours, the surgical team removed the tumour. Within a couple of days, Ighoko stabilised and is now able to breathe and eat well and can also walk normally.