BHUBANESWAR: Claimed to be the first in India and seventh in the world, doctors at the Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital successfully treated an extremely complicated case of brainstem cavernoma and myoclonic epilepsy.
The patient Anil Mahanandia (28) from Jharsuguda who was suffering from the serious illness for last 22 years recovered well after the surgery and was discharged from the hospital on Friday. Vice-Chancellor of SOA University and eminent neurosurgeon Prof Ashok Mahapatra said, “this was a rare disease and we have conducted surgery on the patient successfully. If the surgery was not done, it could have led to brain hemorrhage.”
The patient was experiencing frequent hiccups and trembling besides, abnormal body movements affecting his face, tongue, abdomen and thigh with the frequency of more than 30 per minute. He was unable to eat, sleep and even stand properly.
Mahanandia got admitted to SUM Hospital as he could not get any relief from any hospital within the State and outside. He was first diagnosed with Myoclonic Epilepsy and further investigation revealed he had a tumour deep inside the brain (brainstem cavernoma) which was a rare condition.
Although the surgery was extremely challenging, the team led by neurosurgeon Dr Atmaranjan Das opted for brain mapping - 3D modeling technique used to visually represent nerve tracts - using data collected by diffusion MRI and it worked. “The seven-hour long surgery was very complicated and risky. According to research publications, this surgery was seventh such case in the world and first in the country. It was not attempted anywhere in India for treating such cases before,” said Dr Das.
A day after surgery, the patient was free from hiccups and able to walk. The expensive surgery was conducted free of any cost as the patient was covered under the State government’s BSKY scheme. SUM Hospital was also the first hospital to conduct bone marrow transplantation and live donor liver transplantation in Odisha.