Wednesday, June 6, 2018

Docs operate giant balloon in man’s brain

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: 06.06.2018

A persistent headache for two weeks: this was Veerapandian’s first sign that something was amiss. Within a month, the 54-year-old felt he was gradually losing control over his movements starting with his left eyelid.

Dr Srinivasan Paramasivam, head of neuroendovascular surgery at Apollo hospitals, was no stranger to these symptoms. “These are the most common manifestations of aneurysm in the brain,” said the surgeon, referring to ballooning of blood vessels caused by the weakening of their walls. What he didn’t anticipate was the size of the bulge in Veerapandian’s brain. Measuring 2cm, not only was the aneurysm categorised as being a “giant”, it was also located in an unusual spot – at the base point where the blood vessels branch out. “And it was growing,” said Dr Paramasivam.

If left untreated Veerapandian could have gradually lost control over speech and motion in his right hand and leg. Death, on the other hand, could have been instant if the aneurysm had ruptured.

Veerapandian, who works as a software engineer in Dubai and hails from Vembangudi, Thanjavur, flew down in April to undergo a minimally invasive surgery. “In Veerapandian’s case, the strategy involved a multipronged approach to the aneurysm from right and left sides of the brain, using flow diverter, to resist blood flow to the growth,” said Dr Paramasivam . The entire procedure lasted about three hours.

Following the procedure, the patient was stable and recovered from his headache. He was discharged from the hospital on the fourth day of treatment. A month later, on Tuesday, he was presented to the media. “And I didn’t think I would be out of hospital so quickly,” Veerapandian added. 



ALL WELL: Preetha Reddy, vice-chairperson, Apollo Hospitals, with patient Veerapandian and Dr Srinivasan Paramasivam, senior consultant neurosurgeon and head of Neuroendovascular surgery

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