Dr Prakash Khetan (left) with the certificate received from the Guinness World Records for pulling out 296 hydatid cysts, in Motihari. Picture by Ajit Kumar Verma

A feat or a record was the last thing on his mind when he decided to take up the challenge and operate upon a “rarest of the rare” patient.

After an eight-hour-long marathon brain surgery, Dr Prakash Khetan, a neurosurgeon from Motihari, not only pulled out 296 cysts, measuring 2.4cm each, but also saved the life of eight-year-old Reshma. In the process, Dr Khetan entered the 12th volume of the Guinness World Records for extracting 296 cysts.

“I first saw the girl at Jeewan Jyoti Hospital in Allahabad. Her ailment was triggering frequent fits with symptoms of epilepsy,” said Dr Prakash, adding that in the CT scan of the girl, who belongs to a village in Banda district of Uttar Pradesh, a large number of cysts were found inside her brain. “I took it as a challenge in my career and decided to convince Reshma’s guardians for a critical operation on her,” Dr Khetan said.

With the consent of Reshma’s guardians, she was finally operated on April 13 this year and 296 hydatid cysts (infection from tapeworm) were successfully taken out from her brain.

Reshma, who was earlier unable to stand and walk, regained consciousness two days later and gradually her condition improved. She started moving her feet within a week, claimed Dr Khetan.

Born and brought up in Shantipuri locality of Motihari, Dr Khetan completed his schooling and college from Bihar before finishing his medical education from Uttar Pradesh. He later joined Jeewan Jyoti Hospital in Allahabad.

He told The Telegraph: “Before Reshma, a similar case was found a few years ago in Canada, where a girl had 18 cysts in her brain. But she could not be operated upon and finally died.” Dr Khetan termed this ailment as a “rarest of the rare” found inside human brains in the world. Such cysts are generally found in a human’s lungs or liver.

“After the successful surgery, the case was reported to the Guinness organisation. A team of expert doctors from London reached Allahabad and verified the claim through the surgery footage and the cysts taken out of Reshma’s brain. On May 17, I was informed that my name has been included in 12th volume of the Guinness World Records,” said Dr Khetan.