health
Cancer patient has mobility returned
A multidisciplinary team at Vall d'Hebron Hospital in Barcelona has become the first in Spain to preserve the ability to walk in a patient suffering from a synovial sarcoma. The tumour, which was malignant and over five centimetres in length, was in the gluteus medius, a muscle essential in guaranteeing leg movement. It was identified in April 2015 and doctors determined that the only possible treatment was surgery. The problem is that the operation to remove the sarcoma involved removing all the affected muscle and leaving the patient with difficulty moving his leg, or at best needing the aid of crutches or a cane.
The surgeon in charge of the operation, tumour specialist Dr. Roberto Vélez, studied the possibility of rebuilding the muscle, an operation that has only been done once before anywhere in the world. It is, therefore, the first time such an operation has been performed in Spain.