CHENNAI: The doctors at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital saved the lives of two women by treating abnormal bulging of a major blood vessel, through surgery recently.
The doctors diagnosed an aneurysm, bulging, in a subclavian artery, a major paired blood vessel that supplies oxygenated blood to the arms, neck and brain. In one case, a 40-year-old woman came to the hospital with a large, painful swelling in her left side of neck.
The swelling was there for almost one-and-a-half years. The doctors found a left subclavian artery aneurysm had ruptured. Considering the life-threatening and complex nature of the disease, endovascular stenting was initially performed, said a press release.
However, after a month, the subclavian artery aneurysm recurred in the same location. In an emergency procedure, the doctors performed a thoracotomy, a surgery by opening the ribs, to remove the aneurysm, and control the disease. The surgery which would cost around Rs 10 lakh at private hospitals was performed free of cost at the RGGGH, the release said.
In another case, the doctors performed synthetic graft on a 58-year-old woman suffering from left upper arm pain and neck swelling for two weeks. A fusiform aneurysm, a spindle shaped dilation of blood vessels of the subclavian artery was diagnosed, the release said.
The doctors successfully removed the aneurysm using an open procedure and reconstructed the blood vessel using a synthetic graft. The procedure which would cost Rs 3 to 4 lakh was performed free of cost under the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme, the release added.
Cost of surgeries
A 40-year-old woman had aneurysm in subclavian artery, which recurred after surgery and required another one. Both costs Rs 10 lakh at private hospitals. In the second, a 58-year-old with fusiform aneurysm, had it removed using an open procedure that would have cost Rs 3-4 lakh