According to the family, about a week before being hospitalized, the baby's abdomen suddenly distended abnormally accompanied by vomiting. Worried about the strange symptoms, the family took the baby to a local hospital for examination and was then transferred to Children's Hospital 2 for further treatment.
Here, doctors prescribed ultrasound, CT scan and performed many necessary tests. The results showed that the baby had a retroperitoneal cell tumor and was admitted to the Department of Oncology - Hematology for monitoring and treatment.
According to the initial protocol, the patient needs to undergo 4 chemotherapy cycles to reduce the size of the tumor before surgical intervention. However, after the first chemotherapy cycle, even if the AFP index (a test to help screen for germ cell cancer) decreases, the tumor size continues to increase rapidly and compress organs in the abdominal cavity, making it increasingly difficult for the baby to breathe.
Faced with signs of growth teratoma syndrome, an extremely rare condition, BS.CKII Nguyen Thanh Truc, Head of Surgery Department on the same day, Children's Hospital 2, consulted with international experts and decided to perform emergency surgery.
The surgical process encountered many difficulties because the tumor had a complex vascular structure. CT scan images showed that the tumor had obscured the lower aortic vein, the largest blood vessel in the abdomen, and was located close to the renal blood vessel stem. The surgical team had to perform meticulous dissection to preserve important blood vessels, avoiding the risk of damage.
After more than 5 hours of stressful surgery, the 1.3 kg tumor was completely removed. Currently, the patient's health is gradually recovering and continues to be treated with chemotherapy according to the protocol.
BS.CKII Nguyen Thanh Truc said that the patient's teratoma has malignant components, grows large in size and compresses many organs in the abdominal cavity. Retroperitoneal teratoma is a very rare form. In fact, Children's Hospital 2 often receives cases of teratoma, but most are benign tumors; cases with malignant components and signs of chemotherapy resistance like this patient are not common.
Doctors recommend that not all abnormal masses in the abdomen of children are cancer. However, when children have symptoms such as abnormally swollen abdomen, vomiting, discomfort or feeling a mass in the abdomen, parents should take their children to a medical facility for early examination. Timely detection and treatment is important in protecting children's health and lives.
