Doctors at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, or DMCH, have begun the first surgery on Satkhira girl Muktamoni’s hemangioma tumour.
The 12-year-old was taken to the operating room at 8:20am on Saturday.
A 20-member team of surgeons will be involved in the complicated operation, said Burn Unit Coordinator Samanta Lal Sen.
“We are not certain if we can save her arm,” he said. “We must conduct tests and see how we can proceed.”
Muktamoni’s parents were sitting outside the operating room, their faces reflecting concern.
“The doctors have told us she will get better after the operation,” her mother, Ayesha Khatun said, reports bdnews24.com. “We can do nothing but pray. If everyone will pray for us, she will recover.”
An initial examination suggested the disease could be ‘hyperkeratosis’ or skin cancer, said Satkhira Medical College Assistant Professor Md Nasiruddin. And Samanta Lal Sen had agreed.
Doctors concluded that a tumour had formed in the girl’s blood vessels due to a disease called hemangioma following a biopsy last Saturday.
Muktamoni's parents noticed a tiny red bump on her right arm when she was one and a half years old, said her father Ibrahim Hossain.
For the next four years, the bump grew so much that it began hampering her movement, he said.
Her arm eventually became heavier than the rest of her body, which apparently shrivelled in comparison.
The State took responsibility for Muktamoni’s medical care after her story was reported in the media. She was admitted to DMCH on Jul 11.