DUBAI // Doctors have operated on a six-year-old boy who was suffering from ranula, a rare disease that resulted in a large benign tumour in his neck.
Four doctors at Saudi German Hospital performed a three-hour operation on the Nigerian child to remove the growth from his neck and under his tongue.
This was the first operation of its kind at the hospital.
Dr George Issa, an ear, nose and throat specialist who was part of the operating team, said: “Our ENT team in Saudi German Hospital has successfully removed this mass while protecting the carotid artery, nerves and facial nerve. The tumour was removed and we reconstructed the floor of the mouth where the muscle was weak. The child now is healthy and can eat and drink without any trouble.”
The patient had been operated on in his home country, but the surgery was unsuccessful and had caused further damage, said Dr Issa.
Two anaesthesia specialists and two doctors from the ENT department worked on the case.
“The patient will need to rest for a couple of weeks but will then be able to play, run and do all the things little boys like to do,” Dr Issa said.
Ranula is a rare disorder of the saliva glands that affects about one in 200,000 people.
Usually, ranula causes swelling under the tongue, but Dr Issa said this patient’s tumour had grown much deeper.
arizvi2@thenational.ae
