Teeth Found In An Eye Tumor In Indian Patient!

in Health Insolite — August 19, 2012 3:59 pm | no comments

A team of surgeons in India announced recently the discovery of two molars within a tumor removed from a patient’s eye.  Such an anomaly is termed a teratoma but is exceedingly rare. In fact, this announcement is the first ever to report such a finding in medical history.

The team included surgeons from the Regional Institute of Ophthalmology and Government Ophthalmic Hospital in Chennai, India. More about their findings will appear in future editions of the Indian Journal of Ophthalmology.

Eye tumors that involve other structures, also known as orbital teratomas, very rarely occur. The 2 molars were found in an orbital tertaoma that was surgical removed from a 23-year-old woman in Chennai. The patient had been suffering from the tumor throughout her life until it was finally removed.

Officials from the hospital said that the tumor was removed in an operation that extended for 2 hours. When the teratoma was removed it was examined by the surgical team. They were surprised to find the 2 molars and they think that the teeth developed as part of tissue displacement. The latter took place during the embryonic life of the patient. The teeth were later engulfed by the tumor while it was growing.

Chandrasekaran Kaliaperumal, a neurosurgery specialist from the Temple Street Children’s University Hospital in Dublin, Ireland, said “It is well known that these tumors may have components from all the three germ layer, such as hair, bone, teeth or dermal appendages, and pose a challenge during surgery,” He added “I do congratulate the team and the effort taken to remove this tumor. This is a rare case and needs to be reported.”

In a previous case, Dr. Kaliaperumal, with a team from the Cork University Hospital’s Department of Neurosurgery, were involved in a condition were two encapsulated teethwere found in a brain tumor, intracranial mature cystic teratoma, removed from a 16-year-old girl. Their findings were reported in the British Medical Journal.  This case was even more difficult as the tumor was next to vital brain structures.

In a third similar case, teeth and hair was discover in a case of ovarian tumor by a team in Birmingham, Ala., in the United States.