Zimbabwean doctors successfully remove 4kg tumour from girl

A team of doctors at the Sally Mugabe Children's Hospital has successfully removed a four-kilogramme Wilms tumour from a four-year-old girl, highlighting Zimbabwe's growing capacity to handle complex paediatric surgeries in the public healthcare system.

The intricate operation, which lasted nearly four hours, was performed by a team of local paediatric and neonatal surgeons. Wilms tumour - also known as nephroblastoma - is a rare kidney cancer that mainly affects children aged two to five. The surgery involved the removal of the left kidney, carefully navigating major blood vessels, including the aorta and inferior vena cava.

Dr Kudzayi Munadzira, one of the lead surgeons, explained the delicate nature of the procedure:

"Coordination between the surgical, anaesthetic, and nursing teams at every step was vital. We had to work in perfect sync; otherwise, the patient could have died on the table."

Dr Munadzira added that local surgeons perform two to three similar cancer-related surgeries on children each week, mostly involving abdominal tumours.

"Our hospital is a referral centre with highly trained experts, including superspecialists who have undergone advanced training both in the region and abroad," she said.

The surgeon also credited the success to support from partners such as KidsOR, which equipped two theatres, and the Harare Hospital Children's Trust. Blood donors from the public also played a crucial role in ensuring the operation's success.

The patient's mother expressed relief after months of anxiety:

"Her stomach had grown so much that it looked like she was in her third trimester of pregnancy. The tumour was also draining her blood, and her condition had deteriorated."

This milestone comes weeks after local neurosurgeons at Chitungwiza Central Hospital successfully removed a brain tumour from an 11-year-old girl - the first such procedure at the institution. Until recently, highly specialised surgeries were mostly performed at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals or required costly treatment abroad.

Experts say these successes signal a strengthening of Zimbabwe's public healthcare system, enabling more children to receive life-saving procedures locally. Parirenyatwa, for instance, resumed open-heart surgeries in June last year after a five-year hiatus, performing dozens of successful operations since then.