Her ‘evil twin’ gone, Yamini can breathe life again

Having undergone a delicate surgery to remove a rare tumour, the 26-year-old is on her way to recovery

May 22, 2015 12:00 am | Updated 04:51 pm IST - HYDERABAD:

Doctors believe the tumour mass found in Yamini Karanam’s brain could have been her embryonic twin.– Photo: By Arrangement

Doctors believe the tumour mass found in Yamini Karanam’s brain could have been her embryonic twin.– Photo: By Arrangement

Having vanquished the ‘evil twin’ lodged in her brain, city girl Yamini Karanam is on the path to a full recovery.

The 26-year-old, who is enrolled in a PhD programme at Indiana University in the US, had undergone a delicate surgery last month.

She had begun experiencing sleep problems even while studying for her engineering course in the city. Doctors here pinned her symptoms to stress, missing the tumour growing in the pineal region of her brain.

Last year, during her second year at Indiana, the tumour was diagnosed and surgical removal was recommended, but was told that the procedure could damage her brain. After months of agony, her situation turned hopeful when she found Dr. Hrayr Shahinian at Skull Base Institute in Los Angeles, who specialised in minimally invasive brain surgery through endoscopy.

Yamini was operated upon last month and the tumour removed through a keyhole drilled in her skull. To the doctors’ surprise, it turned out to be a ‘teratoma’ or a tumour-mass which doctors believe could have been Karanam’s embryonic twin.

“I was obviously born with it,” Ms. Karanam told The Hindu from her home in Indiana. “In the months leading up to surgery, I was experiencing extreme fatigue and was oversleeping,” she said.

Karanam’s surgery made headlines as ‘teratomas’ in the brain are extremely rare. Her ‘teratoma’ measured 2.5 centimetres, containing hair and bone. Their presence can go unnoticed until they reach a size significant to cause symptoms.

As for Karanam, she can’t wait to return to college. But her doctors haven’t yet given her the nod yet.

“I have been asked to rest. I will be tested a month later but I can see improvement as the oversleeping and fatigue are now gone.”

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