Bangladeshi infant with cyst undergoes successful surgery at AIIMS Delhi

A three-month-old boy from Bangladesh, suffering from a rare congenital condition, got a new lease of life after doctors at AIIMS here removed a protruding part of his brain which had turned into a giant cyst, larger than the size of his head.

Giant Occipital Encephalocele is a rare congenital condition in which there is a big sac-like protrusion or projection of the brain and the membranes that cover it through an opening in the skull.

If left untreated, the giant cyst can rupture, causing meningitis and then death, Dr Deepak Kumar Gupta, Professor of the Department of Neurosurgery at AIIMS told PTI.

During the three-hour long surgery, doctors removed the cyst and also "covered the functional part of the brain by expanding the skull."

"Large swelling from behind the skull causes difficulty in positioning of the baby, difficulty in feeding and nursing and there is always a fear of sudden rupture of the swelling containing brain tissues," he said.

Dr Gupta said the father of the ch