Tumour weighing 3.2 kg successfully removed from the chest cavity of Russian national at Delhi hospital

A 39-year-old Russian patient has received a new lease of life at a Delhi hospital after undergoing a "highly risky and laborious surgery" for removal of a 3.2 kg-tumour from his chest cavity, hospital authorities said on Saturday.

"Emil was suffering for the past five years from breathlessness and immense discomfort, following which he underwent a series of comprehensive medical check-ups. These revealed that the tumour was gradually growing in his chest cavity, exerting tremendous pressure on his right lung," an official of the Fortis Hospital at Vasant Kunj said.

The patient was admitted on July 31, operated on August 1 and was discharged on August 8.

"Originating from the lining of the chest wall called the pleura, the tumour presented several onerous and demanding challenges to the surgeons as it was touching the main vessels which supplied blood to the heart and other vital organs. The surgical procedure was strenuous as the area left to perform the surgery within the chest cavity was limited. The level of precision that the surgery required was difficult to achieve and there was also no clear indicator that the affected lung would gain its full functionality post-surgery," the hospital said in a statement.

Pleural tumours are found in the pleural space, the cavity between the lungs and chest wall that contains lubricating pleural fluid, it said, adding that a pleural tumour is almost always metastatic (cancerous) and difficult to operate on.

"When the case was presented to us it was clear that it would be extremely challenging. The cause behind such a growth is unknown. However, most of these tumours are benign and once excised completely, a relapse is highly unlikely. We took the chance as the tumour was not infiltrating, making the surgery successful. These tumours are not triggered by smoking. Nevertheless, the recovery in non-smokers is much faster and reaps better outcomes compared to that in a smoker," said Sabyasachi Bal, Director, Thoracic Onco Surgery, at the Fortis Hospital, Vasant Kunj.