Apollo Children’s Hospital, Chennai, treated a five-year-old girl from West Bengal with aggressive thyroid cancer. She underwent a complex total thyroidectomy and has made a remarkable recovery.
The child’s father brought her to the hospital after he noticed a swelling on her neck. An evaluation revealed a papillary thyroid carcinoma, a rare and aggressive form of thyroid cancer in children. Balaji, senior consultant, ENT, and head and neck surgeon, led the surgery, supported by a multidisciplinary team of paediatric oncologists, endocrinologists, and anaesthetists. The team included Sriprakash Duraisamy, consultant, head, neck, and skull base surgery, and Jeenat Malawat, paediatric ENT surgeon, Apollo Children’s Hospital.
Today, the child is doing well, with a healed wound and near-normal voice, and was leading an active, healthy life. Speaking about the surgery, Dr. Balaji said it was a challenging case and performing the procedure on such a young child was quite rare.
Ilankumaran Kaliamoorthy, CEO, Apollo Hospitals, Chennai, also spoke.
Published – November 06, 2025 08:13 pm IST
