KATHMANDU, July 26: A tumor weighing 1 kg that grew on a woman's head has been surgically removed at the National Academy of Medical Sciences Bir Hospital. The tumor on the head of 37-year-old Pramisha Sherpa of Ramechhap was surgically removed by the neurosurgery department of the hospital on Monday.
Head of Neurosurgery Department and Neurosurgeon Dr Rajiv Jha's team removed the tumor after an hour long surgery. Along with Jha, a team of doctors including Sushil Mohan Bhattarai, Prabhat Jha, Kumar Paudel and nurse Babita Chitrakar participated in the surgery.
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After the surgery, the health of Sherpa is gradually getting back to normal, Dr Jha said. According to Dr Jha, the tumor attached to the outer part of the head is the biggest surgery he has done so far. "Even though I have operated on tumors of 2 to 6 cm till now, this is the first time I have operated on a tumor this big," he said. Due to late treatment, the tumor on the woman's head became abnormally large, Dr Jha said. Because the tumor was connected to the veins of the woman’s head, there was a greater risk of bleeding during the surgery. "We didn't let more blood flow in this surgery and we didn't even have to give blood," he said.
If the hair gland is closed after birth, if fatty substances are mixed with the scalp and if there is an injury to the head, this type of tumor called 'Dermoid' develops. If it is not treated in time, there is a high risk of a hole in the bone of the head, and the risk of the tumor spreading throughout the body is high. If this gland is closed, a tumor can form inside the head, Dr Jha said.
According to Migir Sherpa, Pramisha's husband, she had a small bulge on her head even before marriage which was visible outside. After it got worse, eight years ago they went to Jiri Hospital in Dolakha in Ramechhap for treatment. The doctor there performed the surgery. But the tumor grew again. After listening to the stories of the villagers, the Sherpa family did not go to the hospital for years, waiting for the tumor to burst itself. They went to the local hospital after the tumor started growing abnormally, not being able to show her head outside, itchy head, stretching of blood vessels and headache. They arrived at this hospital last May after being referred to Bir Hospital by the local hospital.
As problems were seen in her liver as well, the doctor advised to perform surgery only after taking liver medicine for a month. Accordingly, Sherpa's surgery was completed on Monday. After the abnormal flesh grew on her head like another head, Sherpa started wearing a hat when she went out, and covered her head with a hat when she stayed home. "She always walked with her head covered, even when she stayed at home, she wore a hat for twelve months a year," said her husband Migir.
