Giant cell tumour removed from Afghan national's arm

Doctors at a city hospital have removed a rapidly growing giant cell tumour of the bone from the arm of a 35-year old Afghan national which if left untreated could have led to amputation.
Unable to find help for his condition in his own country, Farhad had travelled to India seeking treatment at the Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals.
"The tumour in his upper arm had consumed a major portion of the bone of his shoulder and arm. The arm had swelled up to three times its normal size because of the rapidly growing tumour which was now obstructing movement," said Dr Rajeev K Sharma, senior consultant, Orthopaedics and Joint Replacement Surgeon.

Dr Sharma immediately conducted a surgery to remove the affected bones and muscles and replace it with artificial implants.
"It was a difficult case of a tumour in the upper part of the arm involving the shoulder area. Giant cell tumour (GCT) is a rare tumour of the bone with growth of mostly benign multi-nucleated giant cells. Further growth in size of the tumour would have reduced the supply of blood to the distal area of the upper arm, causing the threat of amputation. It was very important to operate it immediately because the patient's life was in danger," Sharma explained.

During the surgery that stretched for five hours, doctors successfully removed the entire tumor, including the large area of affected bone and muscles and, replaced the lost area of bone with prosthesis stretching from the shoulder joint to the entire upper arm.

"At the end of the procedure, the patient's entire upper half of the arm was artificial," added Sharma.
Leaving the nerves unaffected, while removing a major part of the cancer-affected area was a major challenge. A failure to protect the nerves could have rendered the arm incapable of movement, Sharma said.
Farhad had consulted quite a few doctors before finally reaching Sharma. The tumour had made his life miserable, causing pain and difficulty of movement.

"My arm had become heavy and big, and slowly as the tumour grew in size, it become increasingly difficult for me to move it. If it had not been removed, even my arm was threatened. I am much relieved to get rid of the ailment and will return back home a happy man," Farhad said.