India: Doctors remove 'world's largest brain tumor'

Surgeons at a Mumbai hospital have removed a 1.87-kilogram (4 pound and 2 ounce) brain tumor that they say could be the world's largest.

The marathon seven-hour procedure took place on February 14.

The news of the surgery was made public recently after the doctors at Mumbai's BYL Nair hospital ensured the patient, Santlal Pal, had recovered.

"The tumor was so big that it appeared as if a second head was mounted on top of the patient's head," Srikanth Balasubramaniam, a senior surgeon who was part of the operating team, told DW.

Balasubramaniam said the sheer size of the tumor and Pal's anemic condition made the operation challenging. Pal lost 3.5 liters of blood during the procedure.

The previous known record was the removal of a 1.4-kilogram brain tumor, also in Mumbai, he said.

Read more: Private hospital's exorbitant bill spotlights poor public healthcare in India

'Rare operation'

Pal, a shopkeeper from the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, had been living with the tumor for three years. He had been told by doctors in at least three hospitals in his home state that the tumor was inoperable.

Balasubramaniam said the tumor affected Pal's vision and caused constant headaches.

"He had lost his vision due to the huge tumor but his eyesight will improve gradually now," he said.

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