AIIMS doctor curing tumor with alcohol lauded by many
Dr P S Chandra, a professor of neurosurgery at AIIMS has done something very few people manage to do in life- saving the life of someone who was said couldn’t be saved. And he did this with the help of some alcohol- ‘absolute alcohol’, that is.
The 28 year old pregnant woman whom the doctor treated was paralyzed below the waist for many months. The reason- a rare type of spinal tumor. Dr Chandra pumped in a measured volume of absolute alcohol which is a neuro-toxic drug into the turmor. This helped destroy the lump.
Said to be ‘Beyond cure’, but the doctor went beyond that
The MRI, as per the doctor, suggested the problem as spine tumor. Many opined that the cancerous tumor didn’t have any cure. The patient was brought to AIIMS where the doctors diagnosed the issue as vertebral haemangioma. It’s a slow-growing vertebral tumour that’s not malignant. However, according to Dr Chandra the greatest challenge with the disease is that the surgery is rather vascular and if touched by a doctor during surgery, it bleeds heavily.
The usual practice in such a scenario is to perform ‘intra-arterial embolization’ by which certain glue is injected into the tumour. This is done prior to the surgery and is time consuming- taking some 4 to 6 hours. Also, the cost comes to about 3 to 4 lakhs. On the other hand, absolute alcohol costs just a few hundred rupees.
Absolute alcohol is 99% ethanol. It destroys the tumour by drawing water from the cells. This dehydrates the cells which causes the structure of the cellular proteins to be altered. Over time, this would lead to new bone formation which in turn helps the spine heal. Not just that, it’s also an embolization agent that curbs blood supply towards the tumour.
Post surgery, the patient started feeling relief in her legs. A couple of months later, she gave birth to a healthy baby. It’s been reported that she could now walk and even workout at the gym.
Many term the doctor’s idea of using absolute alcohol to tackle the tumour unique.
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