Surgeons at St Nicholas Children’s Hospital of the First Medical Association in Lviv saved a teenager with a rare tumour in a critical area of his neck.
The tumour, which had been growing unnoticed throughout his young life, could have killed him at any moment.
The patient is 15-year-old Roman from Uzhhorod. A few months ago, the boy noticed that while chewing, a swelling appeared on his neck, namely under the jaw. Soon it grew larger and became permanent. Roman’s mother took her son to the doctors. Uzhhorod doctors examined the boy and found a congenital cyst of the floor of the mouth.
This fluid-filled benign tumour is extremely rare. Only 1 child out of 100 thousand is diagnosed with such cysts per year. The tumour had been growing unnoticed since Roman’s birth until it reached life-threatening proportions. At the time of the examination, the cyst was already 8 cm wide (while the width of the bottom of the mouth was not much larger – only 10 cm). The tumour was growing further and could have suffocated the young man. Other equally dangerous complications could arise at any time: blood poisoning and infection or compression of vital vessels, so the operation had to be carried out immediately.
The family was sent to Lviv to see the surgeons at St Nicholas Hospital for treatment.
“The challenge for us was the localisation of the cyst – it is complex and dangerous. This area is close to the airways and blood vessels. In addition, the nerves located in this area are responsible for swallowing, salivation and facial movements, so damage to any of these is critical,” says Oleksandr Kalinchuk, surgeon and medical director of St. Nicholas Hospital.
To carefully plan the operation and cope with all the risks, the medical specialists gathered for a multidisciplinary consultation with various specialists: a paediatric oncologist, a paediatric surgeon, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, and an anaesthetist. Together, they carefully worked out the surgery plan.
During the intervention, the doctors separated the cyst from the surrounding tissues and all critical structures. And in order not to hit any vital vessels or nerves, the surgeons operated on the teenager under a microscope. It allowed them to enlarge the field of view and avoid critical damage.
The life-saving operation lasted almost 3 hours and was successful. Now Roman is confidently recovering and returning to his normal life.