Kauvery Hospital Performs Tirunelveli’s First Minimally-Invasive Brain Coiling to Save 43-Year-Old with Bleeding in the Brain

• The patient had suffered a sudden rupture of a brain aneurysm, causing dangerous bleeding inside the skull.
• Doctors performed a minimally invasive brain coiling and stent placement, avoiding open brain surgery, to seal off the ruptured part of the blood vessel and stop the bleeding.

In a first in the city, Kauvery Hospital has performed an advanced, non-surgical brain coiling and stent placement procedure to save the life of a 43-year-old man who suffered a severe headache after developing a ruptured brain aneurysm, a balloon-like bulge in a blood vessel that led to bleeding inside the skull.

In this procedure, doctors insert soft platinum coils and a metal mesh tube called a stent into the weakened blood vessel through a tiny tube, to seal off the aneurysm from inside and prevent further bleeding. This avoids the need for open brain surgery.

Following the procedure, the patient was kept in the Neuro ICU, where the functioning of the blood vessels in his brain was continuously monitored using an advanced Transcranial Doppler (TCD) system. He had developed vasospasm, which was treated promptly with early diagnosis through TCD. TCD is a specialised, non-invasive ultrasound test used to measure how well blood is flowing through the blood vessels inside the brain.

The medical team that treated the patient included Dr. S. Senthil Babu, Neurosurgeon, Dr. G. Satheesh, Senior Consultant & Clinical Lead, Interventional Radiology (Neuro), Dr. R. Esakki Rajulu, radiologist, and Dr. S. Kavu Devi, Consultant Neuroanesthesia and Neurocritical Care and critical care team, Neuro rehabilitation team

In his comments, Dr. Senthil Babu said, “The patient came to us with complaints of drowsiness and a persistent headache. We first performed a CT scan to check for bleeding in the brain, which confirmed the presence of a haemorrhage. Since his blood pressure was normal, we needed to find the exact cause, so we conducted a CT cerebral angiogram and detected an aneurysm. This diagnosis helped us chart the right course of treatment. Instead of open brain surgery, we opted for a minimally invasive brain coiling and stent placement procedure. This allowed us to seal off the weakened part of the vessel, not only to stop the bleeding, but also to prevent any future risk. This is the first time such an advanced procedure has been carried out in this region, especially in Tirunelveli. We are happy we could identify the problem early, offer a minimally invasive solution, and help him recover well.”

He added that a multidisciplinary team was involved at every stage, from diagnosis to post-operative ICU care. The patients were cured completely and he was back to his normal routine life.