A 39-year-old Rekha was suffering from severe headaches and visual blurring for the last five years. When a team of doctors, which consisted of neurologists Dr Rajnish Kumar and Dr Sunil Singla and Neurointerventionist Dr Nihar Kathrani at Paras Hospital, investigated her further, it was found that she had increased brain pressure which was causing the narrowing of the brain venous outflow and thus the given symptoms.
Her symptoms were progressive despite the best medical management. The patient was offered the treatment of brain venous pressure monitoring and stenting, which is a minimally invasive procedure performed without any anaesthesia, just by two small millimetre size punctures in the groin. The procedure was successfully performed by Dr Kathrani and eventually, the brain (intracranial) pressure was reduced and the vision of the patient was saved.
Speaking about the case, Dr Rajnish Kumar, Senior Consultant and Unit Head of Neurology at Paras Hospital, Gurugram, said, “Venous Sinus Stenting is a minimally invasive procedure for the treatment of medically refractory idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) and patients with fulminant vision loss. As the name implies, it involves the placement of a metallic mesh in the shape of a tube (stent) in the area of the narrowed vein to expand the vein and resolve the narrowing to aid in reducing the intracranial pressure”.
“IIH happens when high pressure around the brain causes symptoms like headache and visual blurring. It is quite a prevalent but under-diagnosed condition, mainly affecting middle-aged females,” added Dr Kathrani.