A three-year-old Uzbek boy, whose urinary bladder was completely destroyed by cancer, got a new lease of life after the doctors at a private hospital here used a section of his small intestine to create a new bladder for him.

Back in Uzbekistan, doctors had advised his parents to have his bladder removed and a permanent urine opening (stoma) made in the abdominal wall, said a statement from the hospital in Dwarka, where the child underwent the surgery. His mother did not want a permanent stoma, so his parents travelled to India in February this year after failing to find a solution back home.

The boy was born with congenital embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, a most prevalent type of soft tissue cancer in children, which commonly affects the head and neck region, and also the genital or urinary organs, the hospital said. In the child's case, the malignancy was found in the pelvis and bladder region.

He had already had three resections (the procedure of removing cancerous tissue) and chemotherapy, but his body had stopped reacting, the hospital said in a statement. By the age of one, he had already undergone six cycles of chemotherapy with a poor response, with his cancer relapsing six months later.

When he visited India, he was in severe pain with a blocked urinary tube flowing through his abdomen and was unable to pass urine freely despite numerous treatments. After assessing his serious condition, we decided to perform a radical cystectomy (total bladder removal) and complete orthotopic bladder reconstruction.

"The patient was admitted on February 19," said Dr Arun Giri, Director, Surgical Oncology, at the hospital. "The surgery was conducted on March 21. After removing the damaged bladder, the doctors were able to use a section of his small intestine to build a new urinary bladder because the cancer had not spread to the surrounding organs. We created a new bladder out of the intestine and replaced the old one, giving the child a new lease on life," Giri added.

The boy has recovered fully, the hospital said. "I had given up hope after seeing my child's condition. Back in Uzbekistan, we couldn't find a cure for our child's problem. We are grateful that we were able to travel to India and then to the hospital," his mother was quoted as saying in the statement.

They not only saved my child's life but also ensured that he was cancer-free.