Noida: Five years after beating a rare and aggressive cancer, an 11-year-old girl from Ghaziabad is slowly returning to a normal childhood after doctors at a private hospital rebuilt her cervix and vaginal canal using a section of her small intestine in a rare and highly specialised reconstructive surgery.In 2020, the child had been diagnosed with cervical rhabdomyosarcoma — an extremely uncommon cancer that develops in muscle-like tissue of the cervix — when she was just six years old. Doctors said the disease was detected at stage 2 and required aggressive treatment including a radical trachelectomy, a surgery involving removal of the cervix, followed by chemotherapy.While the treatment successfully cured the cancer, it left the child without normal cervical and vaginal structures, leading to complications years later as she approached puberty and began experiencing issues related to physical development and menstrual health.According to doctors, the girl returned for a consultation after concerns emerged regarding body structure and retained menstrual blood during her first menstrual cycle. A multidisciplinary team then began planning a complex reconstructive procedure aimed at restoring normal body function and supporting her long-term physical and emotional well-being.The surgery was performed at Manipal Hospitals, Ghaziabad, by a team including surgical oncologists Dr Kundan and Dr Vinay Kumar Verma, along with gynae-oncology specialist Dr Munisha Sharma.Doctors said approximately six cm of the child’s small intestine, taken from the mid-ileum region, was used to reconstruct the cervix and vaginal canal. “The remaining cut ends of the intestine were then joined together to maintain normal intestinal continuity,” said Dr Kundan.The surgery itself lasted nearly four hours, but doctors said the planning process stretched over several months and involved repeated evaluations, imaging scans and discussions between specialists and the child’s family.“The journey of a child cancer survivor does not end with curing the disease. Many survivors continue to live with physical and emotional challenges caused by intensive treatment received at a very young age,” said Dr Kundan.Our aim was not just to address a medical complication but to help restore normal body function, support her future growth and improve her confidence and quality of life. Cases like these require careful long-term planning because the condition itself is extremely rare and every step has to be tailored for the child,” he added.Doctors said the first stage of intervention was carried out in Dec 2025, when retained menstrual blood from the child’s first menstrual cycle had to be drained. MRI scans were then conducted over the following two months to evaluate possible reconstructive options. During this period, the child was also put on medication to suppress menstruation temporarily while doctors prepared for the final surgery.“The procedure involved extensive coordination between surgical oncologists, gynae-oncology specialists and plastic surgeons. Every possible option was discussed in detail before the final surgery was planned in the last week of March, after the uterus had returned to its normal shape,” said Dr Sharma.As per doctors such reconstructive surgeries are still uncommon in paediatric cancer survivors but are increasingly becoming an important part of long-term rehabilitation after successful cancer treatment.“These surgeries offer children a chance at more complete recovery after surviving cancer. The goal is rehabilitation in every sense — physical, emotional and functional,” said Dr Verma.Doctors added that the child is now recovering well and has resumed going to school. They said she is expected to have a normal menstrual cycle in the future, though she will remain under regular follow-up. Pregnancy may also be possible later in life, though doctors said she may require cervical cerclage or taping.
