Hyderabad: Doctors save kid hit by parathyroid cancer

HYDERABAD: A rare case of paediatric parathyroid cancer was successfully treated in a 12-year-old girl at the Government General Hospital (GGH), Nizamabad, recently. Doctors said that it was rare for someone below 16 years to have the cancer at the thymus gland remnant and it was probably the first such case in Telangana and only the second one in India.
The girl from Nizamsagar in Kamareddy district had landed at the GGH about a month ago after nearly a year of suffering as doctors she had visited could do little to help her as they mistook it for a simple cyst.
However, the doctors at GGH after tests realised that the cyst was malignant.
"The initial diagnosis was not correct and delay would have posed danger. Following some tests, we found out it was malignant and how serious it was," Dr Sunil, professor of surgery, told TOI.
The complicated surgery done about a month ago lasted nearly 2 hours and involved a large team from surgery, ENT and anaesthesia departments. After the surgery, the girl was kept under strict supervision and is now doing well, he said.
"The surgery and tests would have cost her nearly Rs 8 lakh in a private hospital. But with the help of our superintendent Dr Pratima Raj we managed everything free of cost," said Dr Kiran, a member of the team.
"Our research showed that such case of malignancy is rare in this location and age group," Dr Kiran said.
According to available medical data, such cancers will not occur after treatment, he added.