Rare Keyhole Neck Surgery For 3 Year Old Girl

Three years old girl weighing only 10 kg was operated successfully through endoscopic method. Girl child hailing from Oman was suffering from a rare congenital condition called branchial cyst of second branchial cleft. The swelling had grown in such a size that she was finding it difficult to bend neck.

She was successfully treated by endoscopic surgery by a team led by Dr. R Padmakumar. The procedure was carried out through a 10 mm cut in the axilla (armpit) and nearby two 3 mm cuts. The entire swelling closely adherent to the main blood vessels (the carotid and jugular veins) and nerve to diaphragm was safely and completely removed. This kind of operation in the neck; that too for such young kid, was performed for the first time in the world. “The team’s expertise in doing endoscopic thyroidectomies for many patients really helped in successfully completing this unique procedure” said Dr. R. Padmakumar. As there is no cut in the neck child revived fast and could go back to Oman in three days time. Dr. Madhukara Pai, Dr. Mary Varghese, Dr. Shaji P.G and Dr. Sayooj Mukundan were part of this historic surgical procedure.

View publications in Journal of Pediatric Surgeryfor more details