New Delhi: Baby Roona Begum, suffering from a rare congenital disorder which had caused her head to swell to 94 cm, is all set to return to her home in Tripura after doctors further reduced her head size to 57 cm. The child of a daily wage labourer, suffering from hydrocephalus, Baby Roona was first admitted to Fortis hospital in April 2013 where she underwent complex procedures including cranial vault remodelling procedures from May to August, for reducing the size of her head which had swollen to three times that of a normal baby.
Hydrocephalus is more common among infants and is caused by overproduction, obstruction or lack of absorption of the cerebral fluid in the brain.
Baby Roona was discharged on August 1, 2013 after 105 days of stay at the hospital. She returned to hospital for second round of treatment in November last year and during her stay, surgeons performed remodelling on the anterior part of her skull to further reduce and reshape her head.
“Roona’s health has shown a marked improvement over the last few months, and in particular, since her last surgery. When she came to us for the second time in November last year, she was able to move her head sideways,” a doctor treating her said.
“With her last procedure, she is now able to sleep on her belly, which will eliminate the complication of painful bed sores. She is taking slow but sure steps towards recovery,” Surgeon and Director of Neurosurgery, Dr Sandeep Vaishya said.
Senior Consultant for plastic and reconstructive surgery, Dr Rashmi Taneja who was also part of the team treating her, said, “She will require a couple of surgeries later. It is heartening to see her improved vitals, increased head mobility and playfulness in her behaviour.”
Roona was diagnosed with an extreme form of hydrocephalus, a disorder causing cerebral fluid to build up in the brain immediately after she was born. With her head size growing day-by-day, and doctors failing to treat her, her parents Abdul Rehman and Fatima watched her lying helpless on the bed in their two-room mud hut with her head so heavy that she could barely move.
They then brought her to Fortis, where the doctors took it as a challenge and finally succeeded in reducing her head size to 57 cm from 94 cm. Now with signs of improvement in her health, Roona’s parents are quite confident that she will make it through. (PTI)
