Mumbai: Wadia hospital opens city’s first paediatric skull-base unit

9-year-old Pari Kondilkar with her family

Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital has announced the opening of a comprehensive paediatric neuro skull-base unit, a first-of-its-kind initiative in the city designed to treat complex conditions in children, such as skull-base tumours, vascular abnormalities, infections, and trauma. These cases often require a multidisciplinary approach.

Established two months ago, the new unit is equipped to perform minimally invasive endoscopic surgeries, which reduce recovery time for patients. According to hospital representatives, the unit is staffed by a dedicated team of six specialists, including neurosurgeons and ENT endoscopic skull-base surgeons.

"In children, the occurrence of such tumours is low, which means there are few dedicated centres for this kind of specialised care," said Dr Chandrashekhar Deopujari, a neurosurgery specialist at Wadia hospital. "Since the unit was established two months ago, we have already treated two patients, so there is a need for such facilities. Although tumours in children are rare and no comprehensive data is maintained in India, we still expect about 20 cases a year," Dr Deopujari added.

Among the patients treated at the new unit is 9-year-old Pari Kondilkar, a resident of Panvel, who was diagnosed with multiple brain abscesses - pus collections in the brain resulting from complications of sinusitis. "Due to a lack of response to medications, she was transferred to the hospital. A repeat scan showed an increase in the abscess size. Pari underwent endoscopic surgery and pus drainage. There was a drastic improvement following the procedure. This procedure was scarless, and the recovery period was short," the hospital said.