Delhi hospital creates green corridor for Uzbek girl's cancer surgery

Doctors at Aakash Healthcare in Dwarka created a 'green corridor' to transport the cancerous femur of an 11-year-old Uzbek girl to Manipal Hospital for radiation. The bone was then transported back for reimplantation in a unique limb-saving surgery.

In a specialised medical procedure, doctors at Aakash Healthcare Super Speciality Hospital, Dwarka, created a ‘green corridor’ to transport a cancer-affected portion of the femur of an 11-year-old girl from Uzbekistan to Manipal Hospital for radiation therapy before bringing it back for reconstruction.

The child, who was diagnosed with osteosarcoma of the left thigh, had undergone eight cycles of chemotherapy in Uzbekistan before arriving at Aakash Healthcare. Doctors found hardness in the affected femur and planned a limb-preserving procedure, under which the diseased portion of the bone was removed, treated with radiation and then reused for reconstruction.

As part of the treatment plan, the medical team advised radiation therapy. However, instead of exposing the child to radiation, doctors adopted a specialised approach in which the affected portion of the femur was removed as a graft and transported to a specialised centre for radiation treatment.

The cancer-affected bone was taken through a specially coordinated green corridor to Manipal Hospital, where it underwent radiation therapy to eliminate the remaining cancer cells. After completion of the treatment, the bone will be transported back to Aakash Healthcare and reimplanted into the child’s femur. The approach allows the patient’s own bone to be treated and reused for reconstruction, supporting efforts to preserve the limb and its function.

A Collaborative Approach to Complex Care

Dr Aashish Chaudhry, Managing Director, Aakash Healthcare Super Speciality Hospital, said, “In complex cancer care, expertise is not only about having every specialised facility under one roof; it is also about knowing how to bring the right expertise together for the patient. In this case, we have created a green corridor to take the affected bone to Manipal Hospital for radiation therapy and bring it back to Aakash for reconstruction. This requires meticulous planning, coordination and surgical expertise, with every step designed around preserving the child’s limb. Our focus is to find a way forward for the patient, using the capabilities available to us and working collaboratively wherever specialised treatment is required.”

A Race Against Time

In a race against time where every minute counted, two medical teams bridged the short three-kilometre gap between Aakash Healthcare and Manipal Hospital to execute a critical phase of specialised treatment. The seamless operation relied on an ambulance transformed into a high-precision transit hub. Inside, the bone—precisely measured in advance to match the exact dimensions required for targeted Radiation Therapy (RT)—was carefully packed using an "ambulance in a box" setup and wrapped securely in sterile OT drape sheets to maintain complete contamination control. Coordinated seamlessly by Puneet Setia and Dr Ajit Pal, the transport moved with remarkable speed. The initial outward journey to Manipal Hospital was carved through traffic in just 7 minutes. Upon arrival, the specialised targeted radiation treatment was executed across an efficient 45-minute window inside Manipal's facility. With the radiation complete, the return journey back to Aakash Healthcare took a swift 9 minutes, successfully delivering the bone back for re-implantation and completing a life-saving relay driven by speed, collaboration, and surgical precision.

The hospital said the green corridor played a crucial role in making the treatment pathway possible, demonstrating how clinical expertise, surgical planning and inter-hospital coordination can help deliver specialised care when all required facilities are not available under one roof.

The focus of the procedure is not only to remove the cancer-affected bone but also to preserve the child’s own bone and support the possibility of maintaining the function of her limb, the hospital said. (ANI)

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