Doctors in India have removed the largest excised brain tumor in the world from a 31-year-old shopkeeper. The massive tumor weighed 3.96 pounds.

7-Hour Long Surgery

In a seven-hour long surgery on Feb. 14, doctors at Nair Hospital in Central Mumbai removed from Santlal Pal the tumor that has caused him his vision.

Pal had some swelling under the scalp, headache, heaviness, and complete blindness in his two eyes when he was admitted to the hospital's department of neurosurgery on Feb. 1.

Pal is now recuperating in the Intensive Care Unit and in stable condition. He hopes that he would gradually regain his eyesight.

Largest Brain Tumor In The World Excised Successfully

Trimurti Nadkarni, the neurosurgeon who performed the surgery with a five-member medical team, said that Pal's tumor was much bigger than his head.

"It appeared as if there are two heads mounted on top of each other. Even the scalp vessels had become tortuous and dilated," said Nadkarni.

The doctors also checked medical texts and after finding no tumor bigger than Pal's concluded that they had removed the largest brain tumor in the world.

"We have looked up medical literature from all over the world and it is the largest to be excised successfully. Such large tumours are rare and a surgical challenge," Nadkarni said.

Risky Operation

The tumor had been growing on Pal for the past three years but it grew rapidly over the past year. Doctors said that the pressure from the mass of flesh on Pal's brain caused him to lose his eyesight and further pressure may have caused complete paralysis and neurological damage.

Also, 10 percent of the tumor grew within the man's skull. The tumor had protruded from the skull and Pal's scalp grew over it. Nadkarni said that they had to cut open the scalp to remove the tumor. They also had to make an opening in the skull to remove the tumor within.

Dangerous Surgery

Pal needed 11 units of blood during surgery and had to be placed on ventilator support after.

Pal's wife said that they had approached three hospitals but the doctors told them that the man's tumor was inoperable. Doctors at Nair Hospital also advised them about the risks of removing the tumor.

"We explained the patient and his relatives the risk involved before performing the surgery," Nadkarni said.

Doctors already sent the tumor for biopsy and results are expected next week.