Mumbai: At 43 years old Srikala was too young to undertake extensive Aortic dissectiona serious heart complication in which tears develop in the inner lining of the aorta – the body’s largest artery – affecting blood flow to several organs, including the brain.
But the farmer from a village near Aurangabad suffered from severe stomach pain, dizziness and loss of appetite for three months.
When her hemoglobin level dropped to 6 and she had lost a considerable amount of weight, her family took her to a KEM HospitalParel, in July.
Srikala required a complex procedure called TEVAR (thoracic endovascular aortic repair), which is usually performed in private hospitals with modern infrastructure. However, the team at KEM Hospital was able to perform the procedure successfully and at a much lower cost. “Our team successfully performed the complex procedure and that too at a fraction of the cost in other hospitals,” said KEM Hospital Dean Dr. Sangeeta Ravat.
Professors Dr. Balaji Aironi and Dr. Charan Lanjewar said it was the first time that TEVAR was performed for such an extensive aortic dissection using a hybrid approach in a public hospital in Maharashtra.
Srikala’s husband received an estimate of Rs 30 lakh from a Private clinicbut the procedure cost KEM barely a fifth of the amount. “We also collected donations to help her,” said Dr. Lanjewar.
The repair was challenging because Srikala’s blood vessels in her groin were narrow, measuring only 4 mm in diameter instead of the usual 7 mm.
“When she came to us, she was in cardiogenic shock. We could not have performed a complete repair through open-heart surgery as this carries a high mortality rate,” said Dr. Airona of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Department. The KEM team opted for a hybrid surgery involving both cardiac surgeons and cardiologists to ensure the patient’s safety and rapid recovery.
On August 5, cardiac surgeons led by Dr. Airona created the first step of an alternate bypass (which connects the openings of the major arteries to the brain and hands) using a Dacron graft, a polyester material used to replace or repair blood vessels.
Dr Prafulla Kerkar, former head of the cardiology department at KEM Hospital, who is now a consultant at Asian Heart Hospital, said, “TEVAR is not performed frequently. It is commendable that the university hospital has performed it,” he said.