55-year-old man gets back use of hand after rare surgery at NRS

Kolkata: A 55-year-old man from Baruipur has got back the use of his left hand, albeit without the thumb, after a surgery at state-run NRS Medical College and Hospital. Diagnosed with a rare tumour caused by an infection, that, too, at a very uncommon site, nearly cost him his left wrist. Doctors said the surgery was successful and the patient was discharged but will be under rigorous follow-up as the infection is notorious for reappearance.The condition, called disseminated rhinosporidiosis with involvement of bone and muscle, is a chronic infection caused by the fungal parasite Rhinosporidium seeberi. While it is known to typically affect the nasal passage, doctors said it can spread to other body parts, at times leading to rare musculoskeletal involvement, like bony destruction of the hand or feet. In case of this patient, it involved muscles and bone around the thumb of his left hand.According to the patient who works in a cattle shed in his village, he started noticing a small growth around his left thumb nearly three years ago. He was being treated with alternative medicine by doctors in his locality, but the tumour kept growing, prompting him to report to the NRS surgery OPD in March.Although doctors initially suspected it to be a common tumour involving the bone and soft tissue, a tru-cut biopsy report revealed it was caused by infection. Though benign, the tumour is known for recurrence and could be aggressive in some cases."Extensive surgery, along with medication to prevent recurrence, is the treatment for this. We removed the entire tumour and the affected left thumb. He is under medication to prevent the recurrence of the tumour," said NRS surgery professor Amit Roy, who was helped by doctors Sangita Majumder and Soumendu Bhowmick. "The primary site of such infection is the nasal passage, from where, in a few cases, it can spread. Hence, we roped in our ENT team. But they found no such infection in the nasal area," Roy added.