New Delhi: A three-month-old boy from Bangladesh got a new lease of life after doctors at AIIMS removed a giant Occipital Encephalocele from the child's head. Giant Occipital Encephalocele is a rare congenital condition in which there is a big sac-like protrusion or projection of the brain and the membranes that cover it through an opening in the skull.
If left untreated, the giant cyst can rupture, causing meningitis and then death, Dr Deepak Kumar Gupta, Professor of the Department of Neurosurgery at AIIMS told the media. The child was brought to Delhi by his father Abid Azad after doctors in Bangladesh said his chances of survival are bleak. The surgery was conducted by a team of doctors headed by Dr Deepak Gupta, professor of neurosurgery at AIIMS Delhi, on December 12.
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The team of doctors took three hours to perform the surgery. "Large swelling from behind the skull causes difficulty in the positioning of the baby, difficulty in feeding and nursing and there is always a fear of sudden rupture of the swelling containing brain tissues," Dr Gupta said. Six days after the surgery, the child Arhat Aydin is doing well and is likely to be discharged on Monday. While Arhat's twin brother is healthy and is with his mother in Bangladesh, his father travelled all the way to Delhi for the surgery and is now taking care of him single-handedly, Dr Gupta said.
"Bangladeshi doctors wanted to perform the surgery. But as I did not find any satisfactory and successful cases, I had to explore options abroad. So I looked at options in India, Thailand and Singapore. Later, when two other private hospitals declined to perform the surgery, Dr Deepak from AIIMS agreed and showed his previous successful cases. I felt confident with him and his treatment procedures," Azad said. (With Agency Inputs)
