R ARIVANANTHAM
CHENNAI, SEP 16
City-based MGM Healthcare on Thursday announced that it had successfully performed a CT-guided Minimally Invasive Neuro Surgical Procedure on a 28-year-old woman from Bangladesh for the first time in India.
A multi-disciplinary team led by Prof. Dr. K Sridhar – Director, Neurosciences and Spine at MGM Healthcare successfully conducted this complex minimally invasive pain-relieving procedure on the patient on September 7.
The patient Sheuli Goldar, a mother of an 8-year-old child, was suffering from severe left sided pain of the nape of neck and head for the past 9 years. The constant pain caused her intense agony, and hampered her daily activities including taking care of her child, the hospital said. She underwent multiple scans, consultations and different treatments before she was referred to MGM Healthcare for further assessment and treatment.
Courtesy: Chennai Press News
“A high resolution 3T MRI scan with MR neurography was conducted and we diagnosed that the pain emanated from the left Cervical C2 Dorsal root ganglion, high up in the neck,” Prof Dr K Sridhar, Director, Neurosciences and Spine at MGM, said.
The only possible treatment option was to perform a procedure which would destroy the pain fibers of the ganglion – which is a neural junction in general terms. “But this was quite difficult as the patient had already been subjected to multiple procedures at other hospitals and also, the anatomy of the region was extremely complex with important blood vessels and the spinal cord in close proximity,” he told reporters here.
The team decided to perform a minimally invasive intervention over an open surgery. A CT guided Radiofrequency Ablation procedure was planned with the help of the hospital’s experienced Interventional Radiology Team, he added.
“The CT suite was converted into a temporary sterile operation theatre. The two-part interventional procedure was commenced using live high-resolution CT images and laser marker guidance,” explained Prof Dr Navin Gnanasekaran and Dr. Arunkumar, senior Interventional Radiologists. The two-part procedure involved ‘blocking’ the pain by accurately targeting the ganglion by injecting steroid plus long acting local anesthetic and performing the surgery after the patient confirmed the disappearance of the pain after the ‘block,’ with general anesthesia.
“Though we performed a number of radiofrequency procedures on other organs of the body, an RF ablation surgery for C2 dorsal root ganglion under CT guidance had never been attempted before in India,” the radiologists said. “It was a big challenge, and we’re glad we were able to perform it with zero complications. CT guidance for minimally invasive neurosurgical procedures is definitely more accurate and precise, with significantly reduced risks.” they said.
Dr Ponnaiah, Chief of Neuro Anesthesia and Neuro Critical Care ensured that the patient was comfortable under anesthesia and monitored the patient through the intervention.
When asked about the cost of the procedure, Dr. Navin Gunasekaran said that it will vary from Rs. 75,000 to Rs. 3 lakhs depends up on the severity of the disease.
Harish Manian, CEO, MGM Healthcare said, “We are truly happy with the outcome of this first CT guided neuro surgical procedure and hope that the patient is able to lead a healthy and normal life. I also commend the efforts of our team of experts as it helps us in becoming one-stop cost effective destination for any health concerns.”
Reply to a query, Manian said that the medical tourism sector has picked up after the Covid-19 induced pandemic for the last one and half years. Majority of the medical tourists are from Bangladesh and Middle-East. As several countries started relaxing travel restrictions, hope the medical tourism will bloom in the coming days, he added.
Expressing that she was relieved of the pain, Sheuli Goldar thanked the clinical team led by Dr K Sridhar for giving her a fresh lease of life. “I would like to thank the nursing team for their tireless service during these testing times,” she added.
