Mumbai: Baby with brain sac hanging over his face has complex surgery

Kartik after his surgery and (right) with his parents

Born with a rare congenital disorder, four-month-old Kartik Pavra underwent a successful correction surgery at Wadia Hospital and left for his village in Nandurbar along with his parents on Thursday evening. The disorder had led to a part of Kartik's brain hanging over his eyes and almost blocking his nose.

Speaking to mid-day, Dr Chandrashekhar Deopujari, an honorary neurosurgeon at Wadia Hospital, who operated on Kartik, said, "When he came to us, he had a huge swelling on his face, which hung over his eyes and almost blocked his nose. The swelling made it difficult for him to eat, breathe and even his vision was distorted." He added that Kartik was diagnosed with a rare congenital encephalocele disorder, in which the bones of the skull do not close completely when the foetus is growing in the uterus.

"After his birth, we took him to some nearby hospitals. Our primary health care provider helped us and sent his pictures to the paediatric neurosurgeon at Wadia Hospital and we decided to come to Mumbai," said Kartik's father Suresh Pavra. The neurosurgery team along with the craniofacial plastic surgery specialists saved the baby's life.

"His brain fluid space (ventricle) and his brain artery (anterior cerebral artery) were in the encephalocele - a sac-like projection of the brain. Even though there was no impact on his brain activity, he was breathing through his mouth, his vision was impaired and it completely deformed his nose and face," said Dr Deopujari.

In the eight-hour-long surgery, Kartik's skull was opened and the part of the brain that was hanging outside retracted back. "The actual brain was isolated from the sac. Later, an artificial bone was placed between the two eyes and another one on that to ensure that the brain does not fall again into the nasal cavity," explained Dr Deopujari. He added that Kartik would need another surgery after he turned four.

"If there was a delay in treatment, then brain fluid would have leaked from this swelling and led to an infection. In small children, additional bone can cause disfigurement of the skull," said Dr Deopujari. He added that the chances of developing such neurological defects could be greatly reduced if the mother takes a folic acid tablet a month prior to planning the pregnancy and two months after conception.