KIMSHEALTH doctors successfully performs shunt procedure for rare abdominal disease

Thiruvananthapuram, February 27, 2024: The doctors at KIMSHEALTH Trivandrum have successfully performed an innovative treatment method on a 25-year-old man suffering from a rare abdominal disease. A native of Tamil Nadu arrived at the hospital with severe abdominal pain. Upon detailed examination, it was revealed that the blood vessels in the oesophagus were at risk of rupture. The procedure, known as the ‘percutaneous mesocaval shunt’, was performed on this critically ill patient through a small pinhole, without resorting to complicated surgical procedures. This treatment marks the third of its kind in India and the first in Kerala.

The patient developed this condition due to a blockage in the portal vein, which carries blood from the intestine to the liver. This blockage resulted in dangerously high blood pressure in the portal vein and esophageal veins of a patient who had previously undergone a splenectomy to remove the spleen.

The procedure, led by Dr. Manish Kumar Yadav, Senior Consultant, Neurointerventional Radiology department, was accomplished without relying on traditional surgical techniques. This was achieved by placing a tube-like shunt between the portal vein and the inferior vena cava (the vein that carries blood from the lower and middle parts of the body to the right atrium of the heart).

"This three-hour-long procedure is an important milestone in Indian medical history, and only two such cases have been reported in the country before this," stated Dr. Manish Kumar Yadav. The use of intravascular ultrasound and abdominal ultrasound has helped accomplish this procedure with greater precision. Apart from alleviating portal hypertension, this also eliminated the risk of bleeding in the esophageal veins, he added.

Dr. Madhavan Unni, Senior Consultant and Chief Coordinator, Department of Imaging and Interventional Radiology, Dr. Santhosh Joseph, Senior Consultant and Clinical Lead, Dr. Dinesh Babu, Associate Consultant, Department of Neuro Interventional Radiology, and Dr. Sarath Surendran, Department of Neuro Anesthesia, were also part of the procedure.