Brain tumour weighing 890g removed from 54-year-old

Doctors of MGM Healthcare Malar removed a brain tumour weighing 890 g from a 54-year-old woman. She was experiencing progressive neurological symptoms, including persistent headaches and difficulty performing daily activities. A detailed brain imaging revealed an enormous meningioma — a tumour that arises from the protective layers of tissue surrounding the brain and the spinal cord.

Senior interventional neurologist Karthikeyan S. stated the patient sought medical help after experiencing deviation of the mouth. “The human brain weighs about 1.4 kg. The tumour was occupying the entire brain surface. Tumours take up their own blood supply for survival. After studying in detail the blood supply that the tumour was getting, we did a two-step procedure. We did an interventional procedure called embolisation in which the blood supply to the tumour was cut off while ensuring that blood supply to other parts of the brain was normal,” he said.

Shortly after embolisation, doctors performed craniotomy, an open brain surgical procedure in which a section of the skull is temporarily removed to access the brain. Embolisation, which is a minimally invasive neurointerventional technique, helped minimise the risk of excessive bleeding during surgery.

Senior interventional neurologists Dr. While senior consultant neurosurgeon Aqib Saliya performed the craniotomy, karthikeyan and Sai Prashanth P.R. performed the embolisation. Hospital’s medical superintendent Kalpana Thai was present.