Pune (Voice News Service): Recently, doctors at Manipal Hospitals, Baner successfully treated a 36-year-old female patient suffering from a rare type of aneurysm. The patient was referred to the hospital after suffering from a sudden loss of consciousness and weakness on the left side. An MRI and CT scan of the brain revealed that she was suffering from a subarachnoid hemorrhage. Upon further investigation, an angiography of the blood vessels revealed a rare aneurysm in the main artery supplying blood to the right side of the brain. Dr. Santosh Patil and his team immediately decided to endovascularly insert a flow diverter stent to save the patient’s life.
A flow diverter stent is an advanced intervention in which a cylindrical, metallic mesh is placed inside the sac of the parent blood vessel to divert the blood flow away from the aneurysm. It is performed endovascularly through a pinhole in the groin region using fine catheters and wires. In this particular case, the aneurysm was called a Blood Blister aneurysm which accounts for only 1% of all ruptured cerebral aneurysms. It has extremely thin, fragile walls and is prone to rupture repeatedly, leading to death. Moreover, the patient developed repeated episodes of severe spasms of blood vessels supplying the right side of the brain, causing paralysis of the left side. If medical intervention was not initiated within 1 hour of the onset of this complication, the chances of permanent paralysis and death would have become very high.
Commenting on the severity of the case, Dr. Santosh Patil, Consultant, Neurointerventional Radiology, Manipal Hospitals, Baner- Pune said, “The patient was brought to us with the complaint of subarachnoid hemorrhage. After the endovascular procedure, the patient developed repeated episodes of severe spasms. However, this was recognized promptly in the ICU and was treated on an emergency basis. The patient was given nimodipine through a catheter directly into the affected blood vessel of the brain. This drug caused relaxation inside the muscle walls of the blood vessel, restoring the blood supply to the brain tissue. The entire procedure was done within 1 hour of the onset of the complication, and she regained the movements on her left side immediately. She was discharged within a week and is leading a healthy life.”
Congratulating Dr. Santosh and his team on the success of this case, Dr. Viju Rajan, Hospital Director, Manipal Hospitals, Baner- Pune, said, “A cerebral aneurysm is an outpouching affecting the blood vessels of the brain. When the wall of the balloon becomes weak enough, it ruptures and causes bleeding over the surface of the brain, which is called a subarachnoid hemorrhage. This bleeding can cause brain tissues to die, which may cause a full-blown stroke, permanent damage to parts of the brain, or even death. This was a very rare case in which the aneurysm was very fragile, and our doctors did a great job in timely addressing the condition and its related complications.”
To successfully perform the complex treatment, Dr. Santosh Patil was accompanied by Dr. Amit Dhakoji, Dr. Shreykumar Shah from the Neurosurgery department, Dr. Bhushan Nagarkar from Critical Care and Dr. Ashish Pathak and Dr. Nilesh Warwantkar from the anesthesia department.
