20-Hour Marathon Surgery – Chennaionline

Kumaran Hospitals, Kilpauk successfully performed a 20-hour marathon surgery on a 29-year-old IT professional to remove a rare 20 x 20 x 18cm, high-grade malignant retroperitonal tumour that had developed in the mesentery, the tissue that supports and connects the intestines within the abdomen. The patient was discharged after ten days & is expected to resume normal activities very soon. It is to be noted that the patient had a genetic predisposition, Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1), a hereditary condition associated with an increased risk of developing certain tumours. The medical breakthrough was achieved by Prof. Rela’s team & Dr. P. Kapil Nagaraj, Gastrointestinal Surgeon, with pre- and post-surgical support from a multidisciplinary team comprising an anaesthetist, liver transplant specialist with vascular expertise, intensivist, infectious disease specialist, radiologist & intensive care nurses. The surgery was supported by advanced surgical technologies along with sophisticated monitoring systems, enabling precise tissue dissection, effective vessel sealing and close monitoring of the patient throughout the prolonged procedure. In his comments, Dr Kapil Nagaraj said, “The patient presented with significant fatigability, poor oral intake and weight loss. Imaging, including CT scans, revealed a mesenteric tumour, measuring 20 × 20 × 18 cm. The real challenge, however, was not only the size of the tumour but its location. It was situated at the root of the mesentery, the central region of the abdomen where the major blood vessels supplying the abdominal organs are located. It was closely related to major vessels, making every surgical manoeuvre extremely demanding leaving no margin for error throughout the 20-hour procedure to avoid injury to these vessels. Dr. S.P. Shivakumar, Managing Director, Kumaran Hospitals, Kilpauk said, “What makes this case particularly noteworthy is the coordinated effort of a highly experienced multidisciplinary team, backed by exceptional surgical expertise and meticulous preparedness for even the most challenging scenarios. At Kumaran Hospitals, Kilpauk, we have always invested in building the expertise, technology and infrastructure needed to undertake complex procedures safely and give our patients the best possible chance of returning to their normal lives. We continuously adopt advances in surgery, including robotic surgery, and equip our teams with the latest technologies to ensure that every procedure can be performed with the highest levels of precision, preparedness and patient safety.” He added that unexplained weight loss should never be ignored, as it can sometimes be an early warning sign of an underlying illness. Genetics can also play an important role in predisposing individuals to certain malignancies. While it may not always be possible to prevent such tumours, early diagnosis with master health checks can make a significant difference, as this case demonstrates.