Mumbai: 19-day-old operated for brain haemorrhage

The doctors at Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital successfully operated on a 19dayold infant suffering from an intracranial aneurysmmdasha dangerous bulge in a brain blood vessel that could have potentially caused severe brain damageThe doctors at the hospital for children in Parel performed the complex procedure on Samarth Agare believed to be the youngest patient in India to undergo this procedureAccording to the doctors the patient had undergone coil embolisationmdasha minimally invasive technique in which platinum coils were inserted into the aneurysm to prevent it from burstingJai Agare the childrsquos father a resident of Virar said that Samarth developed a fever a day after he was born and was admitted to Apollo hospital in Badlapur He soon developed an infection but the doctors could not identify the cause They advised us to transfer him to Wadia hospital Jai saidAt Wadia Samarths condition worsened said the father adding that he began vomiting which doctors suspected was a reaction to the medication for his infectionThe hospital authorities said that the infant was put on oxygen support due to respiratory distress and had developed sepsisAfter keeping him for several days a magnetic resonance imaging MRI scan was taken on day 16 which revealed a balloonlike bulge in a blood vessel in his brain measuring ldquo97 x 95 x 83 mmrdquomdashroughly the size of a large marble said the hospital authoritiesThe scan showed bleeding in the surrounding area as the aneurysm had ruptured Such brain haemorrhages in children are extremely rare and even rarer in newborns This type of bleeding is called a subarachnoid haemorrhage said Dr Rashmi Saraf senior paediatric neurointerventional radiologist at King Edward Memorial Hospital who also practises at WadiaAlthough the cause of the infection remained unclear despite multiple tests the condition that followed was linked to the infection said the doctor adding that open neurosurgery was not feasible in this case because of the childrsquos age So we opted for endovascular coiling as it is less invasive said Dr Saraf This procedure does not involve opening the brain Instead we access the arteries through the groin navigate up to the aorta and enter the brainrsquos arteries from thereThe child was closely watched and treated in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit NICU and five days after the surgery he was taken off the breathing machine and started breathing on his ownldquoThis marks a pivotal moment in paediatric interventional neuroradiologyrdquo said Wadia hospital chief executive officer Dr Minnie BodhanwalaHe said that the procedure emphasises the hospitals commitment to leveraging cuttingedge techniques and stateoftheart facilitiesldquoExperts at Wadia have not only demonstrated advanced medical capabilities but also showcased their capacity to handle complex cases with compassion and care The multidisciplinary team involved worked cohesively applying years of experience to navigate this delicate situationrdquo Bodhanwala addedSamarth was discharged by the end of July ldquoDr Rashmi helped in understanding the process We are still visiting the hospital for follow upsrdquo said the infants father