The Department of Public Information (DPI) in a release yesterday, announced that a successful operation, the first of its kind, was executed by the surgical unit in February at the Lethem Regional Hospital, in Region Nine.
It informed that a 16-year-old patient has been given a fresh start in life following the removal of a large congenital hemangioma that affected her right shoulder.
The release explained that a congenital hemangioma is a kind of birthmark that occurs when a tangled group of blood vessels grow in or under a baby’s skin.
The patient was admitted on February 20 with intense levels of discomfort and intermittent pain as a result of the sporadic enlargement of the mass since birth. Before the operation, a physical examination was carried out and showed an eight by ten-centimetre non-tender hyperpigmented mass on the right shoulder of the patient. Upon removal, the full size of the mass was measured to be between 25 to 30 centimetres in length.
The hospital also reported that during the surgery, the patient lost some 800 millilitres of blood which was replenished with a blood transfusion. The patient was discharged five days later.
