An 8-year-old boy from Yemen went through a rare papillary thyroid cancer surgery at Jaslok Hospital in Mumbai. He became the 2nd youngest child to get a successful papillary thyroid cancer surgery in India.
A young boy from Yemen, Mazen became the 2nd youngest child to get a successful papillary thyroid cancer surgery. The 8-year-old was suffering from papillary thyroid cancer which is extremely rare for children of his age. It generally occurs in people aged between 30 and 50.
Mazen’s condition was first brought to the attention in January when a swelling of 4x4 cm was seen on the side and front of his neck. It was there for almost three months. It was first suspected to be a common lymphatic swelling by doctors in Yemen but was later found to be thyroid cancer.
At Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre in Mumbai, a team of researchers and doctors did multiple ultrasounds of the neck and a biopsy of the lesion. Many other tests were also conducted like PET CT scans and blood tests to confirm the presence of cancer and see if it has spread onto any other parts of the body. Fortunately, there was no spread and the team decided to perform a surgery on the neck.
It was a difficult task due to the young age of the boy and the small size of the neck. The surgery went smoothly and Mazen did not feel any pain or experience any constitutional symptoms except for an enlarged cervical lymph node, said Dr. Fazal Nabi, Director of Pediatrician. Papillary carcinoma of the thyroid is extremely rare in young children with an occurrence of 0.54 per 1,00,000 children.
Even though papillary thyroid cancer is highly treatable, intensive management of vitamin D levels and calcium is needed. After the surgery, Mazen was discharged from the hospital in three days. His father, Samad Zaid appreciated the doctors’ efforts. “Mazen is doing extremely well and I am so delighted to see him back to his normal life,” he said.
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