HCMC: A healthy 27-year-old man suddenly had drooping eyelids, facing death

On May 12, a representative of Nguyen Trai Hospital (HCMC) informed Dan Tri reporter that recently, doctors here have received treatment for a young man suffering from a dangerous autoimmune disease.

The patient is Mr. PVT (27 years old, living in Dong Thap province), admitted to the hospital with uneven bilateral ptosis. Previously, the patient was completely healthy, but 2 weeks before admission, the above signs appeared with double vision, fluctuating during the day and worsening in the afternoon.

The patient was ordered a chest CT scan, which showed thymic hyperplasia, while the test results were positive for acetylcholine receptor antagonists (AChR - autoimmune antibodies produced by the immune system, targeting proteins located on muscles). Electromyography results showed that the young man had myasthenia gravis.

Doctors at Nguyen Trai Hospital treat the young man (Photo: BV).

Master, Doctor Vo Cong Truong, specializing in Thoracic Surgery - Cardiology, said that the thymus plays a key role in the maturation and differentiation of T lymphocytes - a key type of immune cell.

In some cases, the thymus can become hyperplastic (enlarged) or develop tumors, disrupting the maturation and selection of T cells. "Faulty" or immature T cells can escape from the thymus and attack components of the body, leading to autoimmune diseases such as myasthenia gravis.

If not properly diagnosed and treated, the patient's condition can progress to complications that affect mobility and even endanger life due to respiratory failure.

After determining the patient's condition, the young man received an interdisciplinary consultation with Thoracic Surgery, Neurology, and Intensive Care.

Doctors performed endoscopic surgery on the young man (Photo: Hospital).

The patient was treated by a blood filtration team to remove antibodies, then underwent surgery using the "VATS single port" method (single port video- assisted thoracic endoscopic surgery) to remove the enlarged thymus.

After surgery and active treatment, the patient's ptosis and double vision were gone, and his health gradually stabilized.

Doctor Truong analyzed that removing the thymus in cases of hyperplasia or thymoma helps eliminate the source of defective T cells and reduce the production of autoimmune antibodies, including anti-AChR antibodies.

Preoperative blood filtration to remove circulating antibodies also helps reduce the risk of complications during and after surgery due to severe myasthenia gravis.

With the "single port" surgical technique, the patient only has 1 small incision instead of 3-4 incisions like traditional laparoscopic surgery, resulting in less pain, better aesthetics, and shorter hospital stay.

This is a difficult surgery, requiring one-lung ventilation anesthesia and the skill and meticulousness of the technician, as the thymus is located near the heart, lungs, large blood vessels and nerves and must be operated through a single small hole.

"If not treated early, the patient may have weak limbs, even respiratory failure, and death due to myasthenia gravis.

Therefore, people should not be subjective with symptoms of weak limbs, drooping eyelids, and difficulty swallowing, because in addition to myasthenia gravis, these are common signs of many complicated diseases," doctors warned.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/suc-khoe/tphcm-chang-trai-27-tuoi-dang-khoe-manh-bong-sup-mi-mat-doi-dien-cai-chet-20250512152511926.htm