Rare surgery in Chennai hospital; tumour removed

Chennai Nov 12 (UNI) Doctors of Dr Kamakshi Memorial Hospital has perfomed a rare surgery and removed a brain tumour of eight cm, of a 47-year-old woman, here recently, through microneurosurgery.

Chief of Neurosurgical Services and Trauma Care and Medical Superintendent D Krupa Shankar, who led a medical and paramedical team in the surgery informed newspersons yesterday that the woman, hailing from suburb Kamara Nagar, was brought to the hospital in an unconscious stage gasping for breath.

He said the patient was immediately resuscitated and put on ventilator. A CT scan of her brain revealed a large tumour of about 8 cm.

After completing other tests, an early surgery was recommended.

The condition was diagnosed as a large falx meningioma which had extended to both sides of the brain.

He said brain tumours were of two types--benign and malignant.

''Meningioma arises from a fold of a thick membrane called falx, which separates the two hemispheres of the brain. Mostly they are on one side. But in this case, it penetrated the falx to extend to the opposite hemisphere. Only five per cent of the falx meningioma was bilateral.

Dr Shankar said all brain tumours are not fatal.

To a question, he said the main symptoms were headache, particularly in the wee hours, vomiting and seizures. If allowed to persist, it might cause weakness of limbs, loss of vision and speech.

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