Neuro and cardiac surgeons at KIMS Hospital have successfully performed an extracranial-intracranial arterial bypass surgery, a relatively rare cerebral revascularisation surgical procedure, to prevent the recurrence of strokes on a patient who had been admitted to the hospital following recurrent episodes of Transient Ischemic Attacks (TIAs) or mini-strokes.
Prakash, a native of Kollam, who has been working in Jordan, was admitted to a hospital there following an episode of TIA. He had been flown to KIMS for further treatment as he continued to have TIA episodes.
TIA causes short-term stroke-like symptoms due to a temporary lack of blood supply to a part of the brain, usually due to a blood clot in one of the brain vessels. An MR cerebral angiogram revealed that the TIA episodes were due to a total occlusion of the right carotid artery, the main artery supplying blood to the brain. However, there was partial blood flow from the opposite branch of the artery.
For Prakash, the EC-IC bypass was the simplest option. In an 8-hour surgery, through anastamosis, the superficial temporal artery (on the scalp) was connected to the brain artery to augment the blood flow, bypassing the blocked portion,” H. V. Easwer, consultant Neurosurgeon and Shantala Prabhu, consultant cardiac surgeon, said at a press conference here on Thursday. Doctors said the procedure was not for all patients with cerebro-vascular occlusive disease and that identifying the small sub-group who might benefit from the surgery was crucial for the effectiveness of the cerebral bypass.
