A 45-year-old woman recently underwent a rare procedure to remove a gastric outlet obstruction. The Chennai resident came with complaints of vomiting and had lost 15 kg in two weeks.
Tests and scans revealed a mass arising from the pancreas and obstructing the small intestine and the bile duct, and also spreading to the liver. She underwent endoscopic gastrojejunostomy, a rare procedure performed under guidance of endoscopic ultrasound.
Vishnu Abhishek Raju, consultant medical gastroenterologist and endoscopist and B. Mahadevan, senior consultant and head of the department at Gleneagles Global Health City performed the surgery. The surgery involved sending a small catheter through the small intestinal obstruction filling the intestine with water and a 2 cm opening was created to allow food to pass from stomach into the intestine bypassing the obstruction using a metal stent. Though such double bypass procedures are performed by open and laparoscopic methods the woman was offered a quick and pain-free endoscopic intervention. The woman did not require any post-operative ICU care. She was relieved of all her symptoms within two days and discharged after being put on routine diet.
Dr. Vishnu said, “This technique of free hand EUS guided procedure, which enables immediate relief to the patient is done only by select skilled experts in the field.”
Alok Khullar, chief executive officer, GGHC said the recent advancements in technology along with the exceptional expertise and surgical skills of the hospital’s doctors normal life had been made possible for the patient.
