On February 15, after a two-hour operation, doctors removed an egg-sized teratoma from the left chest of the girl Xiaoxin. According to reports, Xiaoxin is 13 years old and lives in Suining County. Five days ago, she suddenly coughed and was accompanied by chest pain.

htmlOn December 15, after a two-hour operation, doctors removed an egg-sized teratoma from the left chest of the girl Xiaoxin (pseudonym).

According to reports, Xiaoxin is 13 years old this year and lives in Suining County . Five days ago, she suddenly coughed, accompanied by chest pain when coughing. The family didn't pay much attention at first. After three days in a row, when the symptoms didn't subside, they took her to the local hospital for examination.

At the local hospital, the doctor performed a chest CT examination on Xiaoxin and found a space-occupying lesion in her left chest. The preliminary diagnosis was a left mediastinal tumor.

"The child is only 13 years old, how come he has a tumor? What should I do?" Xiaoxin's parents were frightened and overwhelmed when they heard the news.

The local doctor told them that this situation required a thoracotomy to remove the tumor. However, such surgery could not be performed locally and needed to be done in a large hospital. He suggested that they go to Xuzhou Children's Hospital first.

On the same day, Xiaoxin’s parents sent her to the Cardiothoracic Surgery Department of Xuzhou Children’s Hospital for treatment.

The examination revealed intrathoracic tumors

Seeing the parents of the children who were nervous and frightened, Dr. Zhang Chong who received the treatment comforted them, not to worry too much, as the shape should be benign tumors and it is more likely to be, just take it out and it will be fine.

After further chest magnetic resonance examination, the doctor found a tumor in Xiaoxin’s left mediastinum measuring 3*4*4 centimeters, about the size of an egg, and considered it to be a teratoma, a tumor in the left mediastinum.

What is teratoma? Why do children get this disease?

Dr. Zhang Chong explained that teratoma is a tumor derived from germ cells, most of which are congenital, just like parasitic fetus growing in a child's body. This child is currently in puberty and may be affected by hormone levels and has grown faster recently. Some of these teratomas are benign and some are malignant. The incidence of teratomas is not high, but it is not uncommon clinically.

Because the tumor is located in the mediastinum and next to the lungs, it compresses the lungs, heart, esophagus and large blood vessels, causing the child to cough and have chest pain. It is recommended that surgery be removed as soon as possible.

When it came to the surgery, Xiaoxin’s mother seemed worried and remained silent. After asking, the doctor said: "The little girl is only 13 years old. There is a big hole in her chest. How big of a scar will she have? It will definitely have an impact on her future life." "In the past, traditional surgery, like this, required surgery on the chest wall next to the breast. Large incision resection does not need to be so large now. It can be done through minimally invasive thoracoscopic surgery, which only requires three holes in the chest wall. This will not leave a big scar, and it will not be visible at all if the recovery is good. ”

After listening to Dr. Zhang Chong’s careful explanation, Xiaoxin’s parents finally agreed to the operation.

Doctors were performing thoracoscopic surgery

On the second day after admission, Xiaoxin was pushed into the operating room. After two hours of surgery, the teratoma lurking in Xiaoxin's chest was completely removed. The subsequent pathological test results were It was benign, and Xiaoxin's parents were finally relieved.

The operation was successful and the wound was very small. The doctor told them that Xiaoxin could be discharged from the hospital after a few days of recovery.

Dr. Zhang Chong told reporters that thoracoscopic surgery like Xiaoxin's is a fourth-level surgery and can only be carried out in some large specialized hospitals. Thoracoscopic surgery for adults is now very mature, but surgery for children is affected by the disease. Due to the limitations of pediatric anesthesia and surgical operating space, the operation is much more difficult, which greatly tests the doctor's experience and skills.

graphics | Publicity Department

editor | Gao Yuyang Zhao Hengxin

review | Jiang Wei

producer | Wen Cheng