Evercare Hospital completes country’s first treatment of complex brainstem glioma patient

Evercare Hospital Chattogram has completed the treatment of an 18-year-old complex malignant brainstem glioma patient who remained under mechanical ventilator support.

The hospital authority claimed that they set a new milestone in cancer treatment in Bangladesh after successfully completing for the first time 30 radiotherapy sessions while the patient was under active ventilator support.

They disclosed the issue at a press conference held at the hospital in the port city on Wednesday.

They said the patient’s family took him to Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore recently for advanced treatment. While undergoing treatment, his physical condition suddenly deteriorated severely. He suffered acute cardiorespiratory failure then and was urgently placed on mechanical ventilation.

Since it was not possible to continue treatment there afterward, his family brought him back to the country while he was under life support.

Upon returning to Chattogram in a critical condition, the patient was admitted to the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) of Evercare Hospital Chattogram.

At this point, Dr Bhaskar Chakraborty, visiting consultant of the hospital's Medical and Radiation Oncology department, took charge of the patient's extremely complex and high-risk treatment.

With the consent of the family, he made the bold decision to begin radiotherapy while the patient was still under life support in the MICU.

Successfully delivering 30 radiotherapy sessions to a critically ill ICU patient on active ventilator support is, from a medical standpoint, an extremely complex and technically challenging procedure, said the authority.

Through close monitoring and coordinated treatment by the ICU and cancer specialist teams, the patient gradually recovered. As part of the treatment, he was successfully weaned off ventilator support, and the tracheostomy tube in his airway was subsequently removed.

Once his ability to swallow returned, the nasogastric (NG) tube was also removed, and he began taking food by mouth. Alongside this, through gaze physiotherapy and specialised rehabilitation programmes, the patient regained the ability to walk normally with the support of a walker.

Following treatment, a contrast MRI fusion scan also showed significant improvement in the tumor, they added.

Dr Bhaskar said, "Delivering radiotherapy in a complete ICU environment while the patient was under life support or a ventilator was an extremely major challenge.”

“Successfully completing 30 radiotherapy sessions, freeing the patient from the ventilator, and restoring his normal breathing is one of the greatest achievements for our entire team,” he added.

The hospital Medical Services Director Dr Hassan Shahriar Kabir, Chief Operating Officer (COO) Samir Singh, Visiting Senior Consultant (Medical and Radiation Oncology) Prof Dr Sajjad Mohammad Yousuf, Consultant & Coordinator - Radiotherapy Service (Medical & Radiation Oncology) Dr Tanvir Ahmed and Consultant (Medical and Radiation Oncology) Dr Hasina Akter were present at the press conference among others.