Cancer Hidden Near Heart Successfully Removed — Doctors at Ambedkar Hospital Give 35-Year-Old Man a New Lease of Life

Tumour Safely Extracted from Major Heart Vessels During Rare 5-Hour Surgery

Raipur, Oct 2025: In a remarkable medical achievement, doctors at Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar Memorial Hospital, Raipur, affiliated with Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Medical College, successfully removed a complex 11×7 cm cancerous tumour that was attached to the heart of a 35-year-old man, giving him a new lease of life. The patient was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cancer of the thymus gland, known as Invasive Carcinoma of Thymus.

The five-hour-long complex surgery was led by Dr. Ashutosh Gupta, Head of the Cancer Surgery Department, and Dr. Krishnakant Sahu, Head of the Cardiac Surgery Department. The team carefully separated and removed the tumour, which was adhering to the heart and lungs. According to doctors, this is possibly the first such case of Invasive Carcinoma of Thymus reported in Central India.

Dr. Gupta explained that the tumour was deeply entwined with the heart’s major blood vessels — the Aorta, Jugular Vein, and Superior Vena Cava (SVC) — making its complete removal extremely challenging. The pathology report later confirmed the diagnosis of Invasive Carcinoma of Thymus, one of the rarest forms of cancer.

An Exemplary Team Effort
Medical College Dean Dr. Vivek Choudhary and Hospital Superintendent Dr. Santosh Sonkar hailed the operation as another milestone for Ambedkar Hospital, emphasizing that the surgery demonstrated excellent coordination and skill between the Onco-surgery and Cardiac Surgery teams.

The patient, a 35-year-old man from Odisha, had approached the Cancer Surgery OPD complaining of chest pain and breathing difficulty. Under Dr. Gupta’s guidance, tests including blood investigations, CT scan, and sonography were conducted, revealing a large 11×7 cm mass in the anterior mediastinum — the area in front of the heart. Biopsy results identified the tumour as Thymoma, a rare type of tumour.

Considering the tumour’s critical position, Dr. Gupta consulted Dr. K.K. Sahu, and together they decided to proceed with surgery involving both departments.

Joint Cancer and Cardiac Surgery
The team performed a Median Sternotomy, a procedure involving the opening of the chest bone to access the heart. The tumour was found to be deeply embedded in the pericardium (heart lining) and entangled with major blood vessels — the Aorta, Jugular Vein, and SVC. Over the course of five hours, the surgeons meticulously separated the tumour from the vessels, repaired them, and successfully removed the mass along with a portion of the right lung.

The surgery was successful, and the patient is now stable and recovering well. Pathology results reconfirmed the tumour as Invasive Carcinoma of Thymus, a rare and aggressive malignancy.

Dr. Sahu noted that this case is particularly significant for Central India, as such cancers are often detected late, making surgery nearly impossible. He added that performing such an operation requires the combined expertise of oncological and cardiac surgeons, which is not available in every hospital.

The team behind this rare success included Dr. Ashutosh Gupta, Dr. K.K. Sahu, Dr. Kishan Soni, Dr. Gunjan Agarwal, Dr. Sushrut Agarwal, Dr. K. Lavanya, Dr. Samriddh, Dr. Sonam, Dr. Anil, and from the Anaesthesia Department, Dr. Rachna and Dr. Avinash — all of whom played a crucial role in saving the patient’s life.