Rare case of woman's thyroid gland grows and enters both her lungs

Twenty-five years had passed as 32-year-old Sunila Doshi (name changed) remained unaware of a growing catastrophe inside her body. In a queer medical case, Doshi's thyroid gland was growing beyond her neck region and had entered both her lungs. She suffered from a rare condition – retrosternal goiter, which affects less than two persons in a population of a lakh. "My gland was expanding silently inside my body. Until six months ago, no protrusions or swellings were visible. The gland had turned tumorous and entered both my lungs," said Sunila.

Sunila works as an accountant in a private firm. Six months ago, she consulted a few doctors after having felt a prominent tuberosity at her neck. X-rays revealed that the thyroid gland in the form of a non-cancerous tumour had entered her chest area. The growing thyroid lump was dangerously sandwiched between to arteries and veins of the lungs and the heart.
Scared, Doshi approached a leading hospital, which quoted Rs8 lakh for the surgery. "I was appalled at such an expense. It came as a second shock especially after having realised that my lungs were laden with my thyroid gland. It was a hidden tumour," Sunila said.

By the time she consulted with oncosurgeon Dr Amit Gandhi at Zynova Hospital in Ghatkopar (W), Sunila's thyroid was weighing five kilos. In a shape of a pyramid, concentrated at the neck and extending both ways and penetrating into the lung cavities.

On May 20, Sunila was operated by Dr Gandhi and cardiac surgeon Dr Uday Jadhav, in a surgery spanning eight hours. The doctors removed 60% of her thyroid gland. Her arteries and veins around the tumour had gotten damaged, doctors said that Sunila could have lost her voice and capability to breathe normally. Medical literature reports state that chances of injury to surrounding nerves lurks between 7 to 12% in such cases of surgery. "Fortunately, none of her nerves were damaged. Also had she not reported the expanding thyroid, within a year, she would have lost her voice, would have had breathing trouble and her hand movements would have been severed," explained Dr Gandhi.

The doctors were relieved as complications did not arise on the surgery table. A part of Sunila's thyroid was salvaged during the surgery. "She was earlier suffering from an underactive thyroid, but after the surgery her hormone levels have normalised. Also, she will not be on medication as her thyroid has not been entirely removed," Dr Gandhi added.

Sunila feels that with her successful surgery, a tragedy in waiting was averted. "I heaved a sigh of relief after my surgery and will restart work soon," she elatedly said.