BENGALURU: Doctors at Jain Institute of Vascular Science (JIVAS), a unit of Bhagwan Mahaveer Jain Hospital, have successfully treated a Yemeni national whose aorta had blockages in the abdomen and both the legs.
Fifty-nine-year-old Rawia Saleh Abdulhaedh had consulted hospitals here after doctors in her country stated that her case was serious as she was diabetic, and her right foot would have to be amputed as she had developed gangrene in her toes.
Doctors at JIVAS treated her through a minimal invasive procedure by using angioplasty and stenting the blocked aorta in the abdomen and the legs.
“This was performed with small incisions in the thighs and left arm. The patient’s leg was saved though her right toes were amputated. Her skin was grafted and she can walk with specialised footwear. She was discharged on Tuesday,” said Dr Suresh, chief of vascular surgery.
The doctor said her blood was thinned out due to the blood thinning drugs administered to diabetics and she also had kidney failure because of her prolonged illness. All the toes of her right foot were gangrenous and severely infected. She also had ulcers on the left leg, he said.
He said amputation of legs puts pressure on the patient’s heart whenever they try to move with the remaining part of the leg. “Chances of heart attack are more in amputation cases,” he said.
The doctors noticed that even after the bypass in Yemen, she still had blockages. The aorta (the largest blood vessel in the body) in her abdomen was partially blocked and the blood vessel to the right leg was completely blocked. Her heart was also weak and because of her multiple problems, a bypass procedure for the blockage of leg arteries was not possible since this is a major surgical procedure risking her life. Hence, the doctors chose angioplasty.