Largest-ever endoscopic tumor removal at Delhi’s Sir Gangaram Hospital

Doctors say this is the largest tumor ever removed endoscopically in India

| Updated: 15 May, 2023 1:21 pm IST
Traditionally, such large tumors necessitate surgical intervention, which is associated with higher morbidity, higher costs, and longer hospital stays.

NEW DELHI: In a remarkable medical feat, Sir Gangaram Hospital successfully performed an advanced endoscopic procedure to remove a 6.5 cm bulging tumor from the food pipe of a 30-year-old man who had been experiencing difficulty in swallowing.

The groundbreaking procedure, known as submucosal tunneling and endoscopic resection (STER), was carried out by a team led by Prof. Anil Arora, chairman of the Institute of Liver Gastroenterology and Pancreatico Biliary Sciences at Sir Gangaram Hospital. This marked the largest tumor ever removed endoscopically in India, said the doctor.

Traditionally, such large tumors necessitate surgical intervention, which is associated with higher morbidity, higher costs, and longer hospital stays. However, the STER procedure proved to be a less invasive and cost-effective alternative.

Explaining the technique, Dr Shivam Khare, a consultant from the Department of Gastroenterology at Sir Gangaram Hospital, stated that the tumor was lifted and a tunnel was created around it by injecting saline at its base. This allowed for the separation of the tumor from the layers of the food pipe. The tumor was then safely retrieved through the mouth, and the patient was discharged after two days, gradually resuming a normal diet.

Dr Khare further highlighted the challenges posed by the tumor’s size, which required expertise and specialized endoscopic instruments for a successful procedure without complications.

Prof Arora emphasized the difficulty of removing large tumors endoscopically, especially considering the irregular and pear-shaped configuration of this particular tumor. “With a state of art facility and availability of new advanced endoscopic technologies, we routinely perform many such endoscopic procedures like peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) for achalasia cardia, endoscopic mucosal resection or submucosal dissection (EMR/ESD) for superficial early gastrointestinal cancers ushering in a new era of endoscopic diagnosis and treatment of benign and malignant lesions of the gastrointestinal tract,” he added.

Recent advancements in therapeutic endoscopy have revolutionized the diagnosis and treatment of benign and malignant lesions within the gastrointestinal tract. With high-resolution real-time visualization capabilities, doctors can now detect cancer at an early stage and employ precise endoscopic maneuvers for potentially curative treatments.

Esophageal leiomyoma, the type of tumor removed in this case, originates from the muscular layer of the esophagus, causing dysphagia.

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