Novel Surgery After Removal of Aggressive Tumor Performed in Britain

Doctors in Britain have performed a rare surgery on a 59-year old man, removing an aggressive tumor from his arm and attaching his calf to his arm in order to heal the site of operation. Ian McGregor, from Sunderland, had an aggressive tumor that had spread from his pelvis to his thigh and previous attempts to treat the tumor over the past decade had ended in failures. Doctors at Newcastle's Freeman Hospital came up with a novel idea to repair the hole left in his arm after removing the tumor.

They decided to remove the muscles and tissues from his lower leg, except the bone, and attached it to his arm in order to maintain the blood flow. After removing the tumor and the lower leg, they then detached the calf from his forearm and used it to repair the site from where the tumor had been removed.

Consultant Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon Mani Ragbir, who worked on the surgery, revealed that the surgery was the first of its kind in the UK. “We are not aware of anyone having done this particular procedure before. It's not easy for a surgeon to tell a patient that they haven't done this particular procedure before”, Dr Ragbir said.


Source-Medindia