Vertex Hospital successfully removes rare pancreatic tumour from 13-year-old after marathon eight-hour operation
The family of 13-year-old Gineshwari Jain is glad to see their child recovering well after being diagnosed with Solid Pseudopapillary Epithelial Neoplasm of the Pancreas (SPEN), a rare but curable form of tumour that has a low-grade malignant potential and occurs almost exclusively in young women.

On October 9, 2013, Gineshwari, who is from Rajasthan, underwent an eight-hour long surgery at Vertex Hospital in Mulund, and is now on her way to recovery, said her uncle Vastimal Jain, who lives at Sandhurst Road in Mumbai.

Speaking about Gineshwari’s diagnosis getting done by chance due to the alertness of her mother, Vastimal said, “Gineshwari used to lead a very normal life. She had no pains or any symptoms that would indicate that she had a cancer growing inside her. She used to go to school and carry on with her routine. Then on a Sunday, it was while her mother was bathing Gineshwari, that she noticed that there was lump in her stomach. The lump was moving and was quite big in size. She immediately took her child to a doctor. Several tests and scans revealed that the lump might be cancerous, so her mother brought her to Mumbai for further treatment.”

On reaching Mumbai and consulting a few doctors, the family was advised to meet Dr. Amit Gandhi, Oncologist and Chief Surgeon, Vertex Hospital, Mulund, where Gineshwari was diagnosed with SPEN. “We were told that the surgery needs to be done as soon as possible. We were also told that this is a risky surgery. It was scary when we were asked to sign the consent form,” said Vastimal. But placing their trust on God and the doctors, Gineshwari’s family went ahead with the surgery and much to their relief, it was a success.

“Gineshwari is fine now. She will be discharged by November 8 or 9 and will then return to Rajasthan,” said an emotional Vastimal.

Giving out the medical details, Dr. Gandhi said, “It was a four kilogram tumour with dimensions of 12x10x10 cm, located at the head of the pancreas. The surgery lasted for eight hours and there was 100ml blood loss. SPEN is a very uncommon, low grade, malignant neoplasm that is usually found in young women. The reported incidence of this tumour is only one per cent of all pancreatic tumours. We safeguarded all vessels. This is probably the first such surgery of this kind in Mumbai involving such a young patient.”

Mumbai: Life was the same as that of every other adolescent for Jigneshwari Jain (13). The Std VII student did not even realize that she had a cancerous cyst in her abdomen till her mother found out and she has probably become the youngest person to undergo a rare eight-hour surgery.

Jigneshwari’s mother, while giving her a bath, noticed a cyst in her stomach about two months back. A visit to the doctor revealed that the cyst was cancerous. The residents of Falna, Rajasthan, were told by doctors in Jodhpur to come to Mumbai.

“We were surprised that our girl had such a grave problem and we did not even know of it,” said Bharat, her father. “We brought her to Mumbai and we were told to take her to Vertex Hospital, Mulund,” said Bharat, who works in a private firm.

When doctors conducted tests, they found the situation to be complicated. Dr Amit Gandhi, oncologist and chief surgeon, said, “There was a knot at the head of her pancreas, which touched about two millimetres of her bile duct and part of her small intestine and a kidney.”

Jigneshwari was found to be suffering from solid pseudopapillary epithelial neoplasms (SPENs) of the pancreas, a rare condition, in which tumours that have a low-grade malignant poten9tial and occur almost exclusively in young women.

“It forms about 1% of pancreatic cancers,” said Dr Gandhi. He explained that the only way to cure the cancer was to remove the tumour but it had to be done carefully as other organs it was touching could get affected.

“The tumour weighed four kg. Whipple surgery had to be conducted. We removed the tumour and parts of organs affected and then reconstructed the organs,” said Dr Gandhi.

“She has recovered completely. Doctors say my daughter will lead a normal life,” said Bharat, who has returned to work but has left Jigneshwari with relatives for follow-ups.