Boy, 17, has a MELON-sized tumour removed from his nose to help him breathe for the first time in a decade

A teenage boy is able to breathe properly for the first time in years after doctors removed a baseball-sized tumour from his nose.

The unnamed 17-year-old is only the sixth ever recorded case of having an ultra-rare form of his naval cavity in the world. 

It had impacted his ability to breathe, eat and speak for more than a decade, forcing him to seek help from surgeons in India.

It took them three hours to remove the 750g growth, which was made up of blood vessels, from his nasal cavity.

The unnamed 17-year-old, from New Delhi, India, is believed to be only the sixth ever recorded case of a juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma in his nasal septum in the world.

They were forced to lower his blood pressure to prevent any life-threatening bleeding, as high pressure can cause vessels to rupture.  

Dr J C Passey, from New Delhi's Loknayank Jaiprakash Narayan Hospital, said: 'This tumour is rare and normally the size of a tennis ball.

'But in this case it looked like another head growing along the cheeks of the patient - something like a baseball. 

'When we weighed the tumour post-surgery, it was 750g.' 

It took doctors hours to remove the aggressive growth, which was made up of blood vessels, from his nasal cavity.

Doctors were forced to lower his blood pressure to prevent any life-threatening bleeding, as high pressure can cause vessels to rupture (CT scan of the tumour).

Dr Passey said the operation was risky because the tumour is made up on blood vessels, meaning heavy bleeding is a huge risk during surgery.

 

WHAT IS THIS TUMOUR?

Juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibromas are an ultra-rare benign but aggressive tumour.

They are believed to occur almost exclusively in young males as experts suggest it may be to do with hormones.

The tumours, which are made up of blood vessels, tend to bleed often - which can be life-threatening.

A recent medical literature review found that there have just 65 cases recorded worldwide.

Source: National Center for Biotechnology Information

He added: 'The tumour can start from a place behind the nose and para-nasal sinuses along the base of the skull and expands everywhere into the nose, sinuses, eyes, cheek and even into the brain.

'Though, it is not a cancerous tumor but due its massive bleeding tendency, it may pose a threat to life.'

Dr Ravi Meher, also involved in the surgery, added: 'The nasal tumor is usually is small and occupies the nose and sinuses but in this case it looked like another head growing along the cheeks of the patient.'

The tumour is known as juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma and is a benign mass that bleeds and most commonly occurs in teenage boys and young men.

According to medical literature, only 65 patients have ever been diagnosed with it - and just six in the nasal septum.

He struggled to initially get treatment due to living a remote village, but he has since returned to Kaushambi, Uttar Pradesh and is making a full recovery.