A 50-year-old lady was successfully operated on at Manipal Hospital, Goa for a nerve tumor in her leg. She was operated upon by a team comprising of Dr Omkar Churi, Consultant Neurosurgeon, and D. Amey Pednekar, Consultant Plastic and Cosmetic Surgeon, Manipal Hospital, Goa.
The patient had symptoms of severe shooting type of pain in her leg and mild weakness. The symptoms had initially started with pain in her leg while walking for a long time. Over the course of a year, it kept worsening and eventually, she started having discomfort, even at rest. She also noticed a growing mass at one point in her calf. Due to this, she developed mild weakness in her leg.
She was reviewed by doctors and imaging showed a tumour along one of the main nerves of the leg. The patient was initially continued on medicines to alleviate pain, but the subsequent scans showed progression in the size of the lesion. This is when the surgery was planned.
Speaking about the surgery, Dr Omkar Churi, Consultant Neurosurgeon at Manipal Hospital, Goa, said, “The nerves in the body carry sensations from the organs to the brain and also impulses from the brain to the organs to perform certain activities.
“These nerves are divided into smaller tubes called fascicles. The tumours grow from one of the fascicles and start affecting the function of the others causing these symptoms. These nerves may be extremely important and can cause severe pain, weakness, loss of sensation, and paralysis in the limbs if damaged. To add to the problem, they are compact and thin, which makes it difficult to operate.”
