Doctors at a private hospital in Gurugram recently removed a rare vascular tumour (Juvenile Nasopharyngeal Angiofibroma -- JNA) from the nasal cavity of a 14-year-old boy who was bleeding heavily.

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JNA is a rare tumour that grows in the back of the nasal cavity which results in heavy bleeding, difficulty in breathing and headaches. Its origin and cause is unknown. It is a highly vascular and locally invasive tumour. These tumours tend to develop in young men between 10 and 25 years of age with a clinical history of nasal obstruction. According to the Fortis Memorial Research Institute (FMRI) in Gurugram, the tumour had arisen from the wall of the nose and had extended to the base of the skull, covering half the face of the patient.

The patient's health started to deteriorate, and he started to bleed for 40 minutes every hour for two days straight. His treatment had already been delayed because of the pandemic. "On presentation, the cause for bleeding was ascertained; it was due to a very vascular benign tumour of the nose which had spread beyond the nose and sinuses."

"The size of the tumour was around (8cm X 4cm) weighing almost 250 gm," Dr. Atul Mittal, Director, ENT, FMRI said, in a statement. According to doctors, high vascularity with multiple feeding vessels was the biggest challenge. "The mass was removed in whole with minimal bleeding. It was a scar less surgery. The timely effort helped save the life of a child especially in this unfortunate situation of the pandemic," Mittal added.

The team said that these vascular tumours also require embolisation which cuts off blood supply and this facility is available in very few tertiary care hospitals that minimise the risk of bleeding. "When this child's case was brought to our hospital, the patient was bleeding profusely and required urgent treatment. Team of clinicians performed the surgery taking all necessary precautions in place and saved the child," said Dr. Ritu Garg, Zonal Director, FMRI.