Rare tracheal tumour removed, Pune woman breathes free again

Talegaon A 59yearold hypertensive woman from Pune has regained normal breathing after battling a rare tracheal tumourStruggling with progressive shortness of breath and stridor noisy breathing she received timely care at TGH Onco Life Cancer Centre Talegaon Dabhade Under the expertise of Dr Utkarsh R Ajgaonkar Dr Vivek Bande Dr Ashish Bawiskar Dr Madhura and Dr Vishvas Koul thoracoscopicassisted tracheal resection restored her airway and quality of life showcasing the impact of advanced minimally invasive surgery for rare airway cancersAlka Deshmukh a homemaker and resident of Talegaon had been experiencing progressively worsening breathing difficulties for nearly a month She initially consulted a chest physician who advised a CT scan of the chest The scan revealed a tumour in the trachea that was causing significant narrowing of the airway Considering the seriousness of the condition she was referred to TGH Onco Life Cancer Centre for further managementWhen she presented at the OPD Deshmukh had severe breathing difficulty along with stridor and was immediately admitted for urgent care CT chest scans confirmed the presence of a tracheal tumour To relieve the airway obstruction a bronchoscopyguided debulking procedure was performed which provided temporary relief in breathing Histopathology later revealed that the tumour was a poorly differentiated primary tracheal malignancyFurther evaluation with FDG PETCT showed that the disease was localized and had not spread to distant parts of the body This made the patient eligible for curative surgery which involved complete removal of the tumoraffected segment of the trachea followed by reconstruction to restore the airway tractDr Ajgaonkar consultant surgical oncologist said The patient presented in my OPD with progressively worsening breathing stridor and was immediately admitted and kept on oxygen support Primary tracheal tumours are exceptionally rare and performing a thoracoscopicassisted resection requires meticulous planning Primary tracheal malignancies are extremely rare accounting for less than 01 per cent of all cancers with an incidence of 2ndash3 cases per million per year The causes of this cancer can be smoking air pollution occupational exposure to toxins chronic inflammatory conditions like tracheitis genetic or idiopathic in many patients If not diagnosed and treated early these patients can end up with progressive breathing difficulty and asphyxiation recurrent lower respiratory tract infections bleeding from the tumor local invasion in surrounding organs and vessels and metastasis to distant organs The goal was to remove the tumor completely while minimising surgical trauma and preserving airway functionDr Ajgaonkar further added ldquoThe patient underwent a thoracoscopicassisted tracheal resection along with paratracheal lymph node dissection ie removal of the affected segment of the trachea and joining of the two ends with removal of draining lymph nodes This was a very challenging case because we had to remove nearly 4 to 45 cm of the affected part of the tracheaAfter removing the diseased segment we carefully joined the upper and lower ends of the trachea immediately to restore the airway At the same time we also removed the nearby paratracheal lymph nodes to ensure complete clearance of the disease The technically demanding procedure was performed using minimally invasive techniques ensuring precise tumor removal while reducing postoperative pain and complications Anaesthetic management was critical for a safe surgery and the patient was extubated on the first postoperative day The uneventful procedure lasted for approximately 5ndash55 hours Followup bronchoscopy on day six confirmed a healthy airway anastomosis and the patient was discharged on day eight with stable recovery As a precaution the patient was advised to avoid neck movements for three weeks postoperativelyldquoI was struggling to breathe and every step felt like a fight The team not only treated my tumour but also gave me my life back Breathing freely again feels like a miracle and I am deeply grateful to the doctors who made this possiblerdquo said a relieved Deshmukh