Chennai: A team of surgeons led by Dr Joy Varghese of the Apollo Hospital in OMR saved the life of a 58-year-old woman who received severe traumatic injuries following a car accident.
The woman, Lalitha, a chemistry teacher at a government school was in a car with her family when the accident took place. She suffered brain contusions and multiple fractures of the skull base bones.
She was first treated at a hospital in the city and was discharged but after a few weeks she started getting vomiting sensation, severe redness and swelling of eyes.
Lailitha then came to the Apollo Hospital for check up. Senior consultant, neuro surgeon and interventionalist, Dr Joy Varghese, evaluated her conditions and concluded that Laitha had ‘Bilateral direct carotid cavernous fistula.’
It is an abnormal connection between a carotid artery in neck (that supplies blood to the brain) to a network of veins at the back of eye called ‘Cavernous sinus’ which normally take away blood from the eye and brain to the heart. But if a segment of the carotid artery which lies closer to the cavernous sinus is torn, it can result in carotid cavernous fistula which was what happened to Lalitha. This causes variation in blood pressure in arteries and veins which may lead to internal blood and death.
Dr Joy and his team of surgeons used Digital Subtracting Angiogram (DSA) a device that digitally shows the flow of blood. It also ‘subtracts’ digitally the bones during 3D visualisation. This helps doctors to understand a case in detail. During the operation, doctors passed a catheter through an artery in the groin and up into the carotid artery. ‘We then performed a selective occlusion of the cavernous sinus and the bilateral fistula by using detachable platinum coils,’ said Dr Joy, while interacting with News Today.
Dr Joy also spoke about his team’s careful coordination during the surgery. “This was a very first case in India, we didn’t have any prior training. We conducted the operation in two stages. In the first session, we secured one abnormal connection by using platinum coils. After a week, we operated yet again.”
Lalitha revealed that after the operation, the nauseating sensation stopped. “It was a big relief because I couldn’t eat anything. The redness and swelling in my eyes also started reducing,” she said.
Apollo Hospitals vice-chairperson Preetha Reddy spoke about the neurological cases in India. “Over 30 million people in India suffer from neurological issues and doctors here offer best treatment,” she said.