Visakhapatnam: Doctors perform complex procedure in city to save life of 74-year-old man

Visakhapatnam: City doctors performed a complex surgery recently to save the life of 74-year-old by stenting a critically narrowed blood vessel.

The patient Sanyasi Rao was brought to a corporate hospital in a comatose state after having suffered a stroke.

Explaining the case, consultant neurologist at a private hospital, Dr Kiran Buddaraju said, “In view of the patient’s age, attendents did not opt for an injection due to the risk of bleeding. An angiogram of the patient showed highly narrowed basilar artery with risk of the stroke progressing to severe complications.”

“The last option was to stent the narrowed blood vessel. Our interventional cardiology team comprising Dr Damodar Rao and Dr Bhaskar Rao helped with cerebral angiogram and a stent has been placed in the narrowed blood vessel with no procedure related complications. The patient gained consciousness over the next two days. Subsequently, he was removed from the ventilator and stayed in the ward for six days prior to discharge, he added.

Speaking about the case, consultant neurologist from the hospital Dr Ch Vijay said, “Conditions like location of the stroke, size of the vessel involved, age, risk factors, time period of onset of treatment, play a vital role in deciding the treatment. Large vessel clots can be stented after clot removal and smaller vessel clots can be treated with injection. Results will be encouraging if the interventions are attempted at the earliest after the onset of symptoms.”