BLK doctors perform a live-saving surgery of a child suffering from a rare dancing-eye-and-feet syndrome
THE CASE
At just a tender age of one year, young Ayaan had to suffer a lot because of
a rarest of rare medical condition - a dancing eye and feet syndrome that
causes abnormal jerky movements of the eyes, head, trunk and
extremities. With a rare occurrence of 1 in 10 million, this medical
condition represents a serious problem with a Tumour near the Lung and
Heart Arteries. The critical condition of their son left the parents
immensely worried and clueless until they reached BLK Super Speciality
Hospital in New Delhi. A team of doctors at the Hospital lost little time in
diagnosing and performed a life-saving non-invasive surgery to give the
child a new lease of life.
THE PROCEDURE
The initial assessment of the child revealed a neurological disorder, which
appears to be the result of an autoimmune process involving the nervous
system. A rare presentation of a Tumour originating from neural tissue
(Neuroblastoma) was diagnosed. An MRI of the Chest and Spine revealed
a well-defied moderately enhancing Tumour close to the side of the
Spine. The Tumour was lying close to the major vessel (Aorta), however
there were no signs of Tumour elsewhere. Doctors had to deal with the
challenge of removing the Tumour completely without damaging the
adjacent organs. After much deliberation, doctors decided for the
relatively painless minimally invasive surgery (Thoracoscopy), as the
open surgery was fraught with risks and included long duration of
hospitalisation.
This procedure was a definitive forward move in this domain of medical
science and is still being studied carefully worldwide.
THE RESULT
After a challenging surgery, the Tumour was successfully removed by
gently separating it from the Aorta. The biopsy of the Tumour and genetic
testing confirmed pre-operative diagnosis of Neuroblastoma. The child
was shifted in the Paediatric Intensive Care unit for monitoring. He was
discharged after two days but was advised to be on regular follow-up with
a Paediatric Oncologist. Recently, Ayaan visited the hospital for his
follow-up and is doing perfectly fine.