A team of cardiac surgeons at Medanta hospital in Ranchi, led by Dr Sanjay Kumar, performed an emergency operation on a young woman, whose main artery supplying blood from the heart had ruptured, thus saving her life. The artery, aorta, had ruptured at the place where other arteries that supply blood to the vital organs originate.
Under the surgery, the ruptured portion of the aorta was changed with an artificial graft and all the vital branches that originate from it were re-implanted. The surgery was performed with a new technique in which the patient’s blood circulation was not stopped during the duration of the surgery, conventionally such surgeries are performed under ‘circulatory arrest’ under which blood circulation is stopped. The patient has recovered well just like after a routine cardiac surgery.
Dr Sanjay Kumar said, “The surgery was delicate and required a high degree of precision as several vital arteries originated from the area which had ruptured. We are happy that the operation was successful and the young woman is recovering well.”
The patient was suffering from Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) which is a localised enlargement of the abdominal aorta. This condition usually does not show any symptoms except when the aorta gets ruptured, which results in severe abdominal, back or leg pain.
The risk of developing diseases of the artery is generally higher among the elderly, smokers, diabetics and those with a sedentary lifestyle. Diseases of the artery can be treated before they become life-threatening, people at high risk of such ailments are advised screening by a simple echocardiography (ECG).