Repeated chest tightness and back pain. Mr. Huang, 59, from Anhui Province, learned through a physical examination that he had a tumor in his thoracic spine. If surgery is not done in time, it may be life-threatening. Recently, the Spine Surgery of the South District (Binhu Campus) of Hefei First People’s Hospital and Professor Fan Tao, Vice President of the School of Neurosurgery of Capital Medical University, successfully removed the huge thoracic paravertebral tumor under the microscope for Mr. Huang. The patient is recovering well.
Mr. Huang is a construction worker. During his physical examination and a chest CT scan, the doctor found a huge space on his left thoracic spine. “Thoracic paravertebral neurogenic tumor on the left side of chest 9-11, with a size of about 4.5cm x 4.2cm x 6.5cm.” Du Yibin, chief physician of spine surgery, said after the diagnosis that the tumor is large and may be compressed if not treated in time The lungs can even invade important tissues such as the thoracic aorta, leading to life-threatening rupture of large blood vessels.
Fan Tao is undergoing surgery. Photo courtesy of Hefei First Hospital
Du Yibin actively invited Fan Tao, a “big man” in the field of spinal cord surgery, to come to the hospital for consultation and surgery. Fan Tao is a “leader” in the field of spinal cord and spine surgery in my country, and has made outstanding achievements in the field of microsurgical treatment of spinal tumors. In Anhui Province, spinal surgery has not yet widely carried out microscopic spinal tumor resection. Compared with traditional open surgery, the surgical operation under the microscope is less traumatic, safer, more precise and minimally invasive.
After 2 hours of surgery, Fan Tao led Du Yibin’s team to successfully complete the resection of the huge thoracic paravertebral tumor. The patient, Mr. Huang, is recovering well and will be discharged in a few days. Fan Tao’s consultation and operation for Anhui patients not only relieves the pain of the patients, but also further accelerates the development of the spinal surgery branch of the microspine surgery branch in the South District of the First Hospital of Hefei City. (Fei Qinru)