Narayana Hospital doctors remove rare cancerous tumour using novel EFTR procedure

Mysore/Mysuru: Narayana Multispeciality Hospital, Mysuru, has successfully performed Endoscopic Full Thickness Resection (EFTR) procedure to extract a rare slow growing tumour from a patient’s small intestine. The procedure was performed by Dr. A.K. Satheesh Rao, Consultant – Medical Gastroenterology, at the Hospital recently.

The patient, a 50-year-old female, was presented to the hospital with complaints of repeated abdominal pain. After thorough evaluation, Dr. Satheesh advised her for an upper GI Endoscopy. During the endoscopy, doctors found a substantially large (1.5 cm) lump growing inside the duodenum (first part of the small intestine). Biopsy of the lump revealed carcinoid tumour.

Carcinoid tumour is a rare type of slow growing tumour that is cancerous in nature. Fewer than 10% of people with carcinoid tumours have or develop symptoms; hence it becomes extremely difficult to diagnose. Previously, these tumours were removed via surgery. However, with the advancement of endoscopic technology, most of these tumours can now be removed through endoscopy.

In this case, the tumour was too large to be removed through routine endoscopy. It was then that Dr. Satheesh Rao suggested to perform EFTR, a new age minimally invasive procedure that removes the tumour along with a small piece of the surrounding tissue. The procedure was performed successfully without any complications and the patient was discharged the very next day from the hospital.

Speaking to media persons at Pathrakartara Bhavan recently, Dr. M.N. Ravi, Clinical Director of the Hospital, said: “NH has been at the forefront in adapting emerging technologies for advancing medical care. EFTR is a minimally invasive procedure to remove benign or malignant tumours from the GI tract. The procedure has avoided major surgery in this patient and has been performed with curative success at the Department of  GI sciences at NH.”

Dr. Satheesh Rao said, “EFTR is a minimally invasive procedure that offers many advantages over surgery, including a shorter recovery time, less pain and a reduced risk of complications.”