Doctors remove tumour from 7-month-old’s eye

Probe why cancer cells grew so large at birth of Afghan baby

RAWALPINDI:

Expert doctors at Al-Shafa Eye Trust Hospital have successfully removed a cancerous tumour from the eye of a seven-month-old child.

The baby, brought from Afghanistan, had a large tumour on his left eye. At birth, the cancer had already reached forty centimetres in length, was 25 centimetres wide, and weighed 400 grams. It was also bleeding.

The seven-month-old child's left eye was successfully operated on, and the tumour was completely removed. The child will be fitted with an artificial eye after seven months. Following the successful surgery, specialist doctors at the hospital are now investigating why the tumour had grown so large that the eye was buried under it.

If the surgery had not been performed, the tumour could have spread to the child's other eye. The surgery, which was considered risky, involved persuading the parents through counselling to agree to the procedure.

The surgery was performed by a team of doctors led by Assistant Professor Dr Murtaza. The team also included Dr Mansoor, Dr Ali Raza, Dr Zara, and Dr Huda.

Al-Shafa Eye Trust Hospital has a regular pediatric eye cancer treatment department. The hospital's specialists are now looking into the reasons behind the excessive growth of the tumour in the child's eye.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 10^th, 2024.