MADURAI: Using fluorescence colour angiography, a team of neurosurgeons and neuro-anaesthesiologists completely removed the vascular malformation from the right side brain of an 18-year-old boy who was suffering from recurrent seizures and headache for the last three years.
Speaking to reporters here on Saturday, Hannah Joseph Hospital Chairman and Managing Director M.J. Arunkumar said that the diagnosis reports of the patient showed a high flow brain AVM (arteriovenous malformation) on the right side of his brain.
For the past three years, the boy was visiting many neuro hospitals in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. Since the AVM appeared to be a complex problem with a risk of brain haemorrhage that could either lead to paralysis of one-half of the body or death, many hospitals had turned him down.
The worried parents finally arrived here and after initial diagnosis, the team of doctors decided to perform the surgery, which was termed “high risk” elsewhere, he said.
Normally, such surgery takes 8-10 hours, but with the aid of technology, ie, the intra-operative colour angiography, it took half the time. Thus, by selectively “clipping” the supply vessels to the AVM and making it avascular, it was successfully achieved, he said.
Explaining the advantages of the high technology, he said “the intra-operative fluorescence (colour) angiography is done with ICG (Indocyanine green) using the IR 800/Flow 800 technology for complete excision of the brain AVM. The digital software comes with the most advanced microscope of all times. It is something like using a GPS while driving a car,” he noted.
The new software helps the surgeon to see the architecture of the blood vessels that supply the AVM. Moreover, by using the colour angiography, the arteries and veins would be transparent and seen separately. Importantly, it prevents any damage to the brain tissue and also helps to cut short time, which would ultimately bring down the cost as well, Dr. Arunkumar said.
Answering a few queries, he said that recurrent seizures and headaches should not be neglected and recommended an MRI scan. In most cases, middle and youngsters, with tension, may experience such problem, he replied.
