30-year-old man with a aorta swollen to the size of 20cm undergoes a high-risk yet life-saving surgery at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.
A team of doctors from the Institute of Vascular and Endovascular Sciences, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, performed a life-saving surgery on a 30-year-old male, with a swollen artery in the stomach on the17th of June 2019.
The main aorta (artery) had swollen to the size of 20 cms (normal size is 17 to 18 mm) which was filled with blood which could burst any time and prove fatal.
The high-risk operation was carried out by Dr. V.S. Bedi and his team. The life-saving surgery lasted for 4 hours.
The 30-year-old male was referred to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital with a suddenly enlarged abdominal lump along with unrelenting pain in the right flank. He was diagnosed with a large (20cm diameter) abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) with contained leakage of blood from a focal rupture site.
Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a localized enlargement of the abdominal aorta such that the diameter is more than 50% larger than normal. AAA usually causes no symptoms, except during rupture. Rupture can result in pain in the abdomen or back, low blood pressure, or loss of consciousness. An abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) can be life-threatening if it bursts. Abdominal aortic aneurysms are most common in older men and smokers.
According to Dr. V.S. Bedi, Chairman, Institute of Vascular and Endovascular Sciences, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, “We believe this case represents one of the large abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) in the literature and demonstrates the feasible approach for successful open repair. We were surprised to see this kind of large aneurysm in a 30-year-old person as we see this kind of disease in 60-70 years age bracket commonly.”
According to the Hospital “During the 4 hours long surgery carried out by Dr Bedi, the aneurysm sac was meticulously opened under control and blood flow was restored with the help of vascular graft. During the surgery almost one litre (two kidney trays) of blood clots was removed which left a huge cavity in the sac.”
On completion of surgery, the patient was shifted to postoperative ICU where he was extubated on following day after which he resumed normal body functions like eating, walking and sleeping without pain in a span of only two days.
The patient eventually was shifted out of ICU on the third postoperative day in a stable condition. The patient, after being given a new lease of life, celebrated his birthday by cutting a cake with vascular surgery team in the hospital a day prior to his discharge on the 7th post-operative day after making a full and speedy recovery.