Orange Park Hospital ENT makes medical catch, patient with rare tumor on the road to recovery

ActionNewsJax.com News Staff
·2 min read
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A team of doctors put their talents together to come up with a path to recovery for 40-year-old Sarah Blockinger, but first, they had to pull off a very delicate and difficult surgery.

HCA Florida’s skull base surgeon and rhinologist, Alexander Farag, MD FARS, and oculoplastic surgeon, Walter Smithwick, MD, recently teamed up to save a patient from an extremely rare form of cancer.

Dr. Farag is an ENT surgeon at HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital who specializes in removing brain tumors, as well as orbital tumors.

Recently, Farag began a routine procedure to repair a blocked tear duct. He quickly realized the raised bump on the side of Sarah’s nose was actually a very rare, cancerous tumor. He quickly stopped the surgery to consult with Dr. Smithwick to find a way to save Sarah’s life.

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“We halted the surgery as soon as we realized it was most likely cancer,” said Farag. “Because we know that if we had gone ahead with this surgery, the cancer could have spread leading to a 40% decrease in her survival rate.”

Tear duct cancer originates in the tissues of the lacrimal sac, which are responsible for aiding in tear drainage. This type of cancer is rare, accounting for less than 1% of all head and neck cancers, says HCA in a news release.

“So, it was vital that we stage her cancer appropriately, get the imaging needed, have a multidisciplinary discussion with tumor board and develop the best possible plan for Sarah. Which, for this case, included getting Dr. Smithwick involved as part of our team,” said Farag.

“Our goal at the onset of surgery was all negative margins, possibly save her eye, eyesight, preserve eye function, maximizing her oncological (cancer) outcomes and minimizing her morbidity. I believe that we are well on the pathway to meeting those goals,” said Farag.

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Doctors were able to perform the minimally invasive surgery with cosmetic incisions to help lessen permanent changes to Sarah’s face.

“I’m just grateful, when you hear you have cancer in your face and that it likely means multiple surgeries and treatments – and then this is the outcome - what they have done is beyond amazing,” said Sarah Blockinger. “They saved me.”

A blocked tear duct can cause considerable discomfort and affect one’s quality of life. In this instance, it turned out to be something more. Dr. Faraq and the team of ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialists at HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital provide expert care for diseases and disorders of the ears, nose, throat, head and neck.

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