2.5 kg tumour removed from teenager's shoulder

Doctors at a city hospital have removed a giant cell tumour weighing 2.5 kg from the shoulder of a 19-year-old boy, who was faced with possible amputation and disability from the rapidly growing lesion.
Pawan, whose shoulder movement had been completely stalled due to the growing tumour, also had his joint reconstructed post the removal.
Seven months back, Pawan had a swelling in his right shoulder which started growing and was accompanied by sensory paresthesia, characterized by tingling, prickling, and burning sensation in his arm. With the shoulder joint becoming successively larger over the months, its movement became restricted progressively and eventually stopped completely.

This is when he was brought to the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre (ISIC).
He underwent X-Ray and MRI examinations, which stated the existence of lytic large bony tumour on his right shoulder. Though benign, the tumour had the potential to completely destroy the joint and surrounding soft tissues.
"The condition warranted an immediate surgical. To reduce chances of recurrence of the tumour, we had to remove the entire affected area of the shoulder. We performed right proximal humerus (right shoulder) resection to remove all the bone, muscle and tissue affected by the tumour, and reconstructed the shoulder using cement spacer to maintain the space between the joint to allow function of the limb," said Dr Deepak Raina, consultant orthopaedics, ISIC.

The operation lasted for five hours and the doctors were able to preserve total functioning of elbow and hand.

"We conducted a sort of make-shift reconstruction of the shoulder with an antibiotic cement spacer to allow slight movement of the shoulder and ward off infection. Major restoration of the shoulder movement will, however, be possible only after second reconstruction," said Dr Raina.
Due to economically weak background of his family, the hospital treated him free of cost.
"The tumour was not only hampering the boy's activities, but could have even threatened his life. We believe that good medical treatment is not just the preserve of economically well off patients.

"His family could not have afforded the treatment and this is why we took the boy under our wing. We will also bear the cost of his second reconstruction surgery," said Dr H S Chhabra - Medical Director and Chief of Spine Services, ISIC.
Pawan was discharged from the hospital in a stable condition.