NEW DELHI: When doctors elsewhere told her that losing her leg was the only way to survive, an 11-year-old girl and her mother from Rohini were left staring at a future defined by fear and disability. This week, she is walking on her own, cancer-free, after a series of complex surgeries and chemotherapy at a private hospital that saved both her life and her limb.The child was diagnosed with advanced bone cancer of the left leg that already spread to both lungs, a Stage IV disease that often leaves families with few options. She arrived at thehospital unable to walk, dependent on a wheelchair and crutches, exhausted by pain and repeated hospital visits.Instead of amputation, doctors at Fortis Escorts Hospital, Okhla, opted for a limb-sparing approach, choosing to fight the cancer without taking away her leg.A multidisciplinary team led by Archit Pandit, director and head of Surgical Oncology, and Vineet Goel, consultant surgical oncologist, performed limb conservation surgery. Limb conservation surgery involves removing the cancer-affected bone and reconstructing the limb to preserve function, instead of amputating it.“She already lost so much of herchildhood,” doctors involved in the case said. “Saving the limb was about preserving her future, not just treating the disease.”The battle, however, did not end with the leg surgery. Scans showed the cancer spread silently to both lungs. Over the next several months, the girl underwent systemic chemotherapy and two separate lung surgeries. Surgeons removed multiple tumour deposits from the lungs through staged metastasectomies, using minimally invasive robotic and video-assisted thoracoscopic techniques to reduce trauma and speed recovery.Between chemotherapy cycles and three major surgeries, the childfought quietly, supported throughout by her mother, who stayed by her side through every setback.“Advances in surgical oncology and precision chemotherapy are changing outcomes even in advanced childhood cancers,” Dr Pandit said. “Today, she is walking independently, cancer-free and recovering well. This case shows that even Stage IV bone cancer with lung spread can be treated successfully with the right combination of surgery and chemotherapy.”Dr Goel said, “choosing limb preservation meant giving her a chance to walk, run and live without lifelong disability. Seeing her walk on her own today is deeply fulfilling.”
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