SSKM docs pull off rare stent grafting op, a first in E India

Time of India

07-05-2025

Kolkata: Doctors at the state-run IPGMER (Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research) pulled off a medical feat by deploying an unusual route for stent grafting on a 66-year-old patient with a condition called aortic dissection .The medical team is preparing to present this case in medical journals as the first of its kind, at least in eastern India. This procedure, which costs around 20 lakhs in private hospitals, was entirely funded by the state govt.The patient, Shahamina Bibi, came with complaints of chest pain and was detected with aortic dissection, where there is a tear in the inner layer of the aorta's wall. This allows blood to flow between the aorta's layers, causing them to separate and compromising the blood flow to vital organs. It can trigger complications like aortic rupture or cardiac arrest.While stent grafting via a small incision in the groin is the standard treatment, doctors found that the patient's femoral artery was too narrow. A cardiology team led by Saroj Mandal, with senior resident Sayantan Panda and the CTVS team including Subhendu Mahapatra, came together for the procedure through an incision in the abdomen for the procedure known as TEVAR (Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair)."We conduct two to three procedures of stenting for aortic dissection every month. But in this case, the patient's femoral artery was too narrow, making this route highly risky," said Mandal. In this case, doctors accessed the aorta directly through an incision in the abdomen to deliver the stent graft for repairing the aneurysm in the thoracic aorta."In this particular case, we had to explore a different access path altogether via an incision on the abdomen to introduce the stent. We completed the procedure uneventfully," said Mahapatra. The patient is now recuperating well. The doctor team is writing a paper detailing the procedure with the aim of submitting it to a reputed journal.