Dubai: In a life-saving surgery conducted at NMC Speciality Hospital, Dubai, a large bulge on the aortic wall in the heart of a 28-year-old patient was excised.
The 9.5cm-diameter bulge was an aortic aneurysm in the aortic root of the patient’s heart.
Aortic root surgery is a complex surgical procedure to treat a dilation or enlargement (aortic aneurysm) of a section of the aorta that carries oxygenated blood from one’s heart to the vital organs. The aorta is the large blood vessel and main artery of the body, supplying oxygenated blood to the circulatory system. In humans, it passes over the heart from the left ventricle and runs down in front of the backbone. The aortic root is located near the junction of the aorta and the heart.
In this case, the aortic root was excised and aortic valve and ascending aorta was replaced with a composite graft conduit to save the life of this young Pakistani national.
Faqarul Aslam, working as a driver in a Dubai-based company, had no idea why he was in such poor health and felt lethargic and breathless. Dr Girish Chandra Varma, consultant cardiac surgeon at NMC Speciality Hospital, told Gulf News: “Had this young boy waited longer, he would have lost his life. The patient was referred to us from Thumbay Hospital after his CT scan revealed that he had large aneurysm above the aortic root below the ascending aorta. The fact that the aneurysm was 9.5cm in diameter was worrying and looked like a large balloon dwarfing his heart. The patient came in with laborious breathing and almost no heart activity. The aneurysm had caused massive congestion in his rib cage so much so that his liver had been pushed down to the lower abdomen.”
The patient was first stabilised for three days as he was very weak and then wheeled in for surgery on August 22. His aneurysm was excised while he was put on to a cardio pulmonary pumping machine. The aortic root was connected to one end of a Gore-Tex graft. This is a Dacron conduit that connected his aortic root to the ascending aorta. His aortic valve was replaced and his left and right aortic buttons were incorporated into the conduit, explained Dr Varma.
Aslam, who is only able to speak in a whisper as this throat was hoarse due to the intubation he underwent, was full of gratitude. “I had no idea about the seriousness of the situation. Of late, I had begun feeling that I had no energy and had some pain. I am thankful to Dr Varma and his team as they have saved my life. I have no pain and am already feeling better. In three-four days when I am discharged, I look forward to going home on my holiday and meeting my family.”
What is an aneurysm?
“An aneurysm is a bulge or a swelling in the arterial wall due to weakness of the arterial wall. This can be caused either due to genetic reasons or injury and it can leak or rupture causing grievous harm to the patient,” explained Dr Varma. Aneurysms can occur anywhere including the heart and the brain. Dr Varma added: “Aneurysms can be fatal especially if it has thrombus (blood clot) inside it which results in heart or cerebral stroke on rupture.”
