RMLIMS doctors perform rare brain surgery to save woman

Lucknow : Doctors at the Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences (RMLIMS) saved the life of a woman suffering from a complex brain condition called carotid-cavernous fistula (CCF) by successfully performing a surgery.

The surgery was performed a week ago and the patient was discharged last week. Geeta Devi, a 42-year-old woman from Ballia, had a close call when she fell off her scooter after getting tangled in a kite thread.

The accident seemed minor at first, but 15 days later, she faced a serious condition (CCF). This condition happens when the main artery of the brain, the internal carotid artery, gets connected with the veins of the eye. This puts pressure on the eye and can even lead to vision loss or stroke.

Geeta’s eyes had started bulging and her vision became blurry. “She came with bulging eyes and blurred vision due to increased pressure on eyes,” said Prof. D. K. Singh, head of the institute's neurosurgery department, who led the surgery.

“We decided to perform endovascular coiling procedure to separate the fused vessels. In this, a thin tube called a catheter is put into an artery in leg or groin and guided through the network of blood vessels, up into the head and finally into the bulge (aneurysm). Tiny platinum coils are then passed through the tube into the aneurysm and aneurysm is sealed off from the main artery which prevents it growing or rupturing,” he explained.

The surgery took about two hours and was a success, he added. Singh said this type of surgery is rare because only few neurosurgeons do it. “In UP we are the only ones who perform this procedure,” said Singh.

Dr. Kuldeep Yadav and Dr. Mohammad Kaif were part of the neurosurgery team. The doctors said that people should not ignore bulging after head injury as it can lead to CCF.