The tumour was discovered while the newborn was still in the womb; after oral medication failed, it was decided to surgically remove it as it was obstructing the baby’s airway
The baby, who is yet to be named, post the surgery
A premature newborn was successfully treated after 14 days of birth at the B J Wadia Hospital for an extremely large and relatively rare tumour on the face, called a hemangioma. Hemangioma is a tumour made of extra blood vessels in the skin.
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The baby, who is yet to be named, was found to have the tumour during ultrasonography while in his mother’s womb. “The tumour was very large and pressing on the airway making it impossible for the baby to breathe independently after birth. We tried oral medication before surgery. But due to its huge size and the involvement of airway and vital structures of the face, we had to take him up for the surgery,” said Dr Sudha Rao, head of the Paediatric Medicine Department at Wadia Hospital.
It was in the 30th week of pregnancy that Kandivli residents Gulshan and Dimple Choupal came to know about their unborn child’s abnormality. “Ultrasonography showed a soft tissue mass on the right side of the face of the baby, possibly indicating a vascular malformation making it difficult for the baby to swallow resulting in excessive amniotic fluid around the baby. We panicked. We were referred to Wadia hospital for further care,” said Choupal.
Early delivery
Due to this abnormality, the baby had to be delivered in the seventh month. “He was not only very premature with low birth weight but also had a big soft tissue mass measuring 15x12 cm on the right side of the face that disfigured it, covered the entire side, and displaced the ear. The mass was also causing bilateral nasal obstruction and pressing on the airway, and the baby had severe respiratory distress,” said Dr Rao.
The child was intubated at birth, put on a ventilator, and also received surfactant for his lung immaturity. “Post-surgery, there is a marked reduction in the swelling and our baby is off the ventilator and breathing on his own,” said Gulshan. The baby was discharged after three months of stay in the hospital.
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