Indian expat with multi-organ complications undergoes six-hour-long life-saving procedure
The patient was diagnosed with a infectious leaking aneurysm in his thoracic aorta, tear in his oesophagus, blood clots in his right lower limb and around 300 ml of pus around his heart
Dubai: A 48-year-old Indian expat diagnosed with multi-organ complications has undergone a six-hour-long life-saving procedure here at a private hospital.
The multi-disciplinary team of doctors who performed the complex procedure on the patient diagnosed him with a leaking infectious aneurysm in his thoracic aorta, a tear in his esophagus, and thrombosis in his right lower limb. The doctors also drained over 300 ml of pus built around his heart.
The patient, P Shajikuttan, a welder by profession, reported to the emergency department of Aster Hospital, Mankhool, on March 23 in a semi-conscious state. He was rushed to the hospital after his colleagues found him vomiting blood and collapsing in the room.
According to his colleagues, Shajikuttan was suffering from fever and body pain for a few days, and his health deteriorated suddenly.
“By the time Shajikuttan reached the hospital, he had lost a lot of blood. He was in a hemorrhagic shock, so we could not get much details. So our first attempt was to stabilize the patient,” said Dr. Senthilnathan TT, specialist vascular and endovascular surgeon at Aster Hospital, Mankhool.
“An immediate chest x-ray revealed a widened mediastinum indicating the presence of an aneurysm in the thoracic aorta. He was swiftly subjected to a CT scan which revealed the massive infectious aneurysm that had started leaking. The aneurysm was about to rupture. If it had ruptured, the patient would have died,” added the doctor.
The patient was immediately subjected to a minimally-invasive TEVAR (Thoracic Endo Vascular Aortic aneurysm Repair) procedure, which was successful.
However, the leakage from the infectious aneurysm had filled up around the heart, and the patient soon experienced a cardiac emergency caused by pericardial effusion.
“We shifted him from the cardiac ICU to the cath lab, where he underwent pericardiocentesis. The procedure drains fluid build-up around the heart. To our surprise, over 300 ml of pus was drained,” said Dr. Naveed.
Tear in the esophagus and blood clot in the right lower limb
Following the cardiac procedure, Shajikuttan was kept in the ICU for continuous monitoring.
However, the next day doctors found blood in his esophagus. “Detailed investigation revealed that there was a tear on the esophagus caused by aorto-esophageal fistula. It is a life-threatening condition that causes gastrointestinal bleeding. It was the result of the infection aortic aneurysm. We fixed it using a stent in the aorta and CT scans showed no leakage of the esophagus,” said Dr. Amal Premchandra Upadhyay, consultant gastroenterology at Aster Hospital, Mankhool.
The challenges did not end here. Though Shajikuttan started responding to the treatment and showed progress, doctors found that his right leg was not responding.
“There was no pulse in his right leg. A thorough check-up found a complicated thrombosis in his femoral artery. He again underwent surgery to rectify this. There were multiple blood clots in his femoral artery. We cleared all those,” added Dr. Senthilnathan.
According to the doctor, it is very rare that a patient presents with multiple complexities, each life-threatening by itself. “Shajikuttan’s condition was very bad. Thankfully, he was brought at the right time and received the proper treatment. We are so happy to see him recovering fast,” added Dr. Senthil.
He was healthy and had never been admitted to a hospital: Relative
Shajikuttan’s family and relatives responded to his sudden deterioration with shock. “He was a hard worker and very healthy. He was completely normal and had no lifestyle diseases as well. We cannot understand what went wrong,” said Mathew, the patient’s relative who works in Abu Dhabi.
“Shajikuttan had informed me that he was suffering from fever and cough for a few days. I had been in regular touch with him. We used to call every day. Shajikuttan told me he had taken leave due to fever. He was in the room for three days. On the fourth day, he vomited blood and collapsed in the room,” added Mathew.
Daugther’s marriage on April 10
Shajikuttan, who is now recovering at Aster Hospital, Mankhool, was planning to go to India for his daughter’s marriage in the first week of April.
“I do not know what to say. I can only thank God and the doctors at Aster for giving me this second chance at life. I cannot even remember what happened to me. It all happened suddenly. I want to attend my daughter’s marriage. That is my only dream now. The doctors here have made that possible. My family and I will forever be indebted to them,” said Shajikuttan.
He will be discharged from the hospital on Thursday and will travel to Kerala to attend the marriage of his daughter.
(ENDS)
About Aster Hospitals UAE
Aster Hospitals UAE is Aster DM Healthcare’s continuation of its endeavor to create world-class, patient-centric hospitals driven by medical innovations and a culture of excellence. The Hospital aims to make a difference, with its patient-centric approach to medical care. The state-of-the-art multispecialty hospital in Mankhool is a 126-bedded medical facility, and Al Qusais a 150-bedded facility, where doctors adopt a multidisciplinary approach to provide holistic treatment to patients. Equipped with the most advanced Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in UAE, Aster Hospital offers multispecialty medical and surgical care all under one roof.
Aster DM Healthcare
Aster DM Healthcare Limited is one of the largest private healthcare service providers operating in GCC and in India. With an inherent emphasis on clinical excellence, we are one of the few entities in the world with a strong presence across primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary healthcare through our 27 hospitals, 118 clinics, 323 pharmacies and 66 labs & patient experience centres in seven countries, including India. We have over 24,350 plus dedicated staff including 3,110 doctors and 7,063 nurses across the geographies that we are present in, delivering a simple yet strong promise to our different stakeholders: “We’ll treat you well.” We reach out to all economic segments in the GCC states through our differentiated healthcare services across the “Aster”, “Medcare” and “Access” brands. For more information, please visit http://www.asterdmhealthcare.com.
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