Since birth, the patient has had a tumor but it is very small, so the family does not pay attention. The patient's childhood was quite normal. By primary school years, the tumor begins to grow. The family once took the patient to a children's hospital for examination, but at that time, economic conditions were difficult so he could not be treated. At that time, the tumor was much larger, probably double the original, but the patient had to endure it because he had no money at home, the patient recalled.
Over time, the tumor continued to grow, became more and more severe and caused many inconveniences in daily life. The patient said that he often felt scalp pain, headaches, earaches and reduced hearing due to a compressed tumor. Sometimes I dont hear clearly, especially in the right ear, the patient said. However, apart from these symptoms, overall health is still relatively stable.
When the tumor grew too large, causing severe burden and clearly affecting daily activities, the family decided to take the patient to Cho Ray Hospital for examination and treatment. "I feel normal, but I'm worried a lot," the patient shared.
The case was later assessed by doctors as complicated, requiring specialized intervention, opening up opportunities to help patients improve their health, hearing and especially the quality of life after many years of living with a congenital tumor.
Dr. CKII Hoang Ba Dung - Head of the ENT Department, Cho Ray Hospital said that neuralgia is a very rare congenital disease. At Cho Ray Hospital, it takes three to three years, sometimes even five years to see a case, while cases with large tumors that deform the face are even rarer. This is a benign disease, related to chrome dynamic disorders and excellent genetics, the patient had a tumor from birth.
According to Dr. Hoang Ba Dung, the tumor will gradually increase in size over time, mainly causing deformation at the development site. In this case, the tumor develops in the face - ear - neck area, pulling the patient's ear from a normal position to near the neck, causing prolonged discomfort, reducing hearing loss and seriously affecting aesthetics. Because the tumor was too large, there was a high risk of blood loss and could cause damage to nerve VII (cial exhaustion), so the patient had gone to many places for examination but did not receive surgery.
The tumor weighed nearly 950 grams, located close to important structures such as the facial nerve and the capillary bulge. This is a very difficult surgery, requiring careful preparation from imaging diagnosis, assessment of blood vessels that support tumors to preoperative clogging to limit bleeding, Dr. CKII Hoang Ba Dung shared.
The surgery lasted nearly 5 hours, the biggest challenge was controlling bleeding, preserving facial nerves and at the same time restoring aesthetics, bringing the ear to a nearly normal position, rearranging the scalp and hair of the patient. According to the Head of the ENT Department of Cho Ray Hospital, the tumor was removed more than 95%, with a low risk of recurrence due to slow tumor development. Initial results showed about 90% of patients' satisfaction with function and aesthetics.
