In a rare kind of its surgery, an eight kilogram balloon-like protrusion has been removed from the head of a four-month old baby at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in the national Capital.

The doctors termed the disorder as encephalocele and believed it be the first of its case in the country. The child Shwetank, who hails from Siwan district of Bihar, doctors said weighed around 11 kilograms when brought to the hospital by his parents.

Following the surgery, the baby now weighs three kg after the removal of this mass from this head. “The protrusion contained nearly six litres of fluid,” said Head of Department Neurosurgery AIIMS Dr AK Mahapatra, who first saw the baby on January 18. “Such a case is scientifically termed as a case of Encephalocele and it is a first-of-its kind case as it was a ‘Giant Encephalocele’ — a congenital malformation of the skull where the contents of the brain can protrude out in the form of a balloon. It was larger that the size of baby Shwetank’s head,” he said.

The baby, he said, was brought to him in a rectangular tub as he could not be carried in a lap. “Due to such condition, he could not be carried in lap, he only slept on his sides. He could not be fed properly too,” he added.

Surprised at the case, he said that the swelling did not rupture and he was brought to AIIMS with great care. “It would have been fatal for the child. The baby’s surgery, too, was not a simple procedure,” he said.