Doctors found out that hypertension was not the only affliction that was troubling Suresh. They found that when they checked the blood pressure on the right hand it was normal, and when they checked it on the left hand, it was very high. Further investigations showed he had a very rare disease.
The specialists of the Brain and Heart Institute of Andhra Hospitals group found out that their 33-year-old patient was suffering from the rarest of rare “Type ‘A’ Aortic dissection”.
Cardio thoracic surgeon R. Dileep Kumar explained that an Aortic dissection (AD) occurred when an injury to the innermost layer of the aorta allowed blood to flow between the layers of the aortic wall, forcing the layers apart.
Aortic dissection was relatively rare, occurring at estimated rate of three in one lakh people per year.
And the delay in every hour of treatment increased the risk of mortality exponentially, Dr. Dileep explained. Most hospitals do not even admit patients with this disorder, he said.
“The surgical correction of Aortic dissection is a complex procedure. The patient was put on a cardio-pulmonary bypass machine and body temperature was cooled to 68 degrees F. Blood circulation was stopped for a brief period for the repair of the head and neck blood vessels. Since the tear in the blood vessel extend to the Aortic valve and coronary arteries, the aortic root and hemi-arch had to be replaced, Dr. Dileep explained. The surgery took five and half hours.
But miraculously the patient was able to walk and climb stairs on the fifth day after surgery.
Two other surgeons Srimannarayana and Ramesh assisted Dr. Dileep Kumar in the surgery.
https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Vijayawada/rare-vascular-disease-cured-by-delicate-surgery/article24764254.ece
