Doctors remove three tumors in adrenal glands in siblings

New Delhi, July 4 Two siblings from Uttarakhand diagnosed with large tumours in vital organs of adrenal glands received a new lease of life after undergoing complex surgeries, doctors said on Monday.

Disha Joshi, 15, and her younger brother Manan Joshi, 8, were taken to the hospital with very high blood pressure and various other complications, including seizures.

Manan had a large tumor measuring 4.5 cm in the left adrenal gland, while Disha had two tumors, one in each adrenal gland, said the doctors who performed the surgery at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

The doctors said that Disha had the larger tumor in her right adrenal gland measuring 5.5 cm, while the one in the left adrenal gland measured 2.5 cm.

"The initial challenge for us was to stabilise the blood pressure of the siblings before planning the complex surgery. We planned to remove the tumors and preserve the normal part of the adrenal gland because it is a very vital organ which produces steroids and maintains blood pressure.

"We accomplished this by using minimal invasive surgery through key hole incisions," said Ashwin Mallya, urologist and robotic surgeon, who operated on both the patients.

First Manan underwent a laparoscopic surgery for left adrenal tumor removal, which took two hours with 50 ml blood loss. After that Disha was operated upon using robotic technology, which took three-and-a-half hours.

The doctors said that biopsy reports of the tumors revealed pheochromocytoma (rare adrenal tumor). Genetic studies of the siblings have revealed a rare familial tumor syndrome called VHL syndrome, which causes tumors all over the body.