18-Months-old baby undergoes life-saving brain tumour removal surgery at MGM Healthcare

Chennai: MGM Healthcare, a multi-specialty quaternary care hospital in the heart of the city, today announced the successful removal of an aggressive rare brain tumour from, an 18-month-old child from Bangalore. 

The baby was diagnosed with a fast-growing form of brain tumour known as an atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumour (ATRT) last year and underwent a surgery at another hospital for the excision of the tumour. The child was brought to MGM healthcare in the month of May 2023 with some symptoms again and it was diagnosed that tumour has re-occurred in the brain stem. 

Atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumour (ATRT) is a rare and fast-growing cancerous tumour of the brain and spinal cord. About half of these tumours begin in the cerebellum or brain stem. The cerebellum, located at the base of the brain, controls movement, balance and posture. The brain stem controls breathing, heart rate and all the muscles used in seeing, hearing, walking, talking and eating. ATRT is very rare and is found in fewer than 10% of children with brain tumours. The disease is most often seen in children age 3 or younger, but it can also occur in older children and adults.

The team of doctors under the supervision of Dr. Roopesh Kumar, Director, Neurosurgery, MGM Healthcare, decided to perform a micro-surgical excision of the tumour which was present near the brain stem. As an advanced step an intra-operative MRI (a procedure that creates images of the brain during surgery) was conducted post the surgery to check for any further presence of the tumour in the child’s brain. Through the MRI, the team was able to identify the residual lesion furthermore and the second procedure was planned the next day and the complete tumour was removed. 

Commenting on the procedure, Dr. Roopesh Kumar, Director – Neurosurgery, MGM Healthcare said, “Atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumour (ATRT) is a deadly tumour typically diagnosed in young children. ATRT most commonly presents as a brain tumour, but can occur elsewhere in the central nervous system including the spinal cord. This kind of tumour is generally seen in children. The surgery proved to be challenging for our team as it involved multiple compartments of the brain…and also the fact that this child had already undergone surgery elsewhere last year.”

The first surgery in this case took around 4.5 hours and happened in the evening, while the second surgery, which went on for 3 hours, happened in the morning on the next day. The child was discharged on day 5 post the surgery and is now doing fine.

Similarly, in another case concerning a 58-year-old lady from the North-Eastern part of the country who contracted cancer around 5 years back, everything looked quite normal until recently. She suddenly started feeling weak in the right upper and lower hands and also her feet. The weakness became so severe that she was not able to walk and soon became wheelchair bound.

When she was brought to MGM, it was found that she had a tumour inside the brain stem which is an important part of the brain which is responsible for many vital functions of life, such as breathing, consciousness, blood pressure, heart rate, and sleep. Such tumours are usually treated through chemotherapy and radiation, but Dr. Roopesh and team decided to remove the tumour totally which is a unique approach that has helped the patient recover faster. The patient was explained the positive impact of this in terms of improvement in her condition, within 2 - 3 days of the tumour removal surgery, her condition improved and she started walking.

Speaking during the press conference, Dr. M. A. Raja, Director of Oncology Services, MGM Cancer Institute, “Depending on the stage of disease, chemotherapy for ATRT can be used to either treat the tumour directly or to mitigate complications and side effects. Treatment varies depending the patient’s disease and age, but it can be in the form of neurosurgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and stem cell transplant.” 

"Brain tumour removal surgeries have always been and continue to be one of the most difficult, challenging and risky procedures, wherein chances of healthy and normal survival are very bleak. We are proud of team of experts who undertook these surgeries with artistic precision. Such challenges indeed help us in reiterating our position as a one-stop destination for precise and accurate diagnosis and cure," says Harish Manian, CEO, MGM Healthcare.