AIIMS docs remove rare 7kg tumour from woman’s arm

Bhubaneswar: Doctors at AIIMS Bhubaneswar have successfully removed a rare 7kg plexiform neurofibroma from the left arm of a 47-year-old woman, bringing relief after nearly 30 years of pain and disability. The condition steadily worsened over three decades severely limiting her mobility and affecting her everyday life.The woman, a labourer from Baripada in Mayurbhanj district, had a large, pendulous swelling stretching from the mid-arm to the back of her hand. As the growth enlarged over time, it became extremely heavy and disabling. It significantly reduced shoulder movement, weakened hand function, and made routine tasks increasingly difficult. The skin over the mass also darkened and developed ulcers due to long-standing pressure.She was admitted to AIIMS Bhubaneswar on Nov 25 . After a detailed pre-operative evaluation, doctors identified the tumour as a highly vascular lesion about 45 cm long, making surgery particularly demanding because of high risk of bleeding, according to Dr Sanjay Kumar Giri, head of the department of burns and plastic surgery at AIIMS Bhubaneswar.Because of the complexity, the treatment was planned in two stages. The first operation removed the forearm portion of the tumour during a six-hour surgery on Dec 3 last year. After a six-month gap, the second procedure was carried out on May 28 to remove the hand component, lasting about three hours.AIIMS Bhubaneswar executive director Dr Ashutosh Biswas commended the team for completing the challenging procedure successfully and said it has given the patient a renewed chance at a better life.The surgeries were performed by the burns and plastic surgery department team, using advanced vessel-sealing technology, LigaSure, along with careful surgical planning to control bleeding during the operation. Blood transfusions also were required as support during the procedures.After the tumour was removed, the raw wound areas were reconstructed with skin grafts taken from usable skin on the excised tissue itself. This method helped avoid creating additional donor-site wounds elsewhere on the patient’s body. According to an official statement from AIIMS Bhubaneswar issued on Saturday, the grafts have taken well, and the patient is recovering steadily with regular follow-up and dressing care.