Aorta is the largest blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to other parts of the body. A tear or cut in this artery can lead to death, if not diagnosed and treated within few hours of discovering the symptoms. According to experts, 1 in 5 people with an aortic dissection (Tear in the aorta) die before getting admitted to a hospital and the mortality rate among these people stands at more than 50%.

This being the scenario, Kauvery Hospital Chennai, one of the leading healthcare in Tamil Nadu performed three complex surgeries in the aorta within a month. All three patients weresuccessfully treated and discharged within few days of surgery. “One of our patients was a64-year-old woman. The initial diagnosis was done by DrC Sundar, Senior Consultant Cardiologist who discovered the accumulation of blood around her heart through ECHO Cardiogram. Within two hours she was shifted for surgery since that was the only option to save her. The success and life saving measures depend on quick suspicions and diagnosis. The patient who was diabetic and hypertensive on irregular medications presented to our hospital with severe chest pain and hypertension with blood pressure at only 60. This made the treatment more complex,” said DrA.RRaghuram, Senior Consultant, Cardiac Surgeon.

Unlike other cardiac surgeries, Aortic dissection is a very complex procedure and not many health centers in Tamil Nadu or South of India are equipped with the right expertise and infrastructure. “Dissection of aorta is a technically challenging surgery and it needs the right expertise within the window period to see the success rate. The surgery on the 64-year-old woman was completed in 5 hours and within 6 days she was discharged,” addedDrA.R Raghuram.

The symptoms of an aortic dissection are similar to that of a heart attack where one can undergo sudden severe chest pain or back pain, difficulty in breathing, loss of consciousness, weak pulse rate, paralysis of legs etc. Hence it becomes imperative to get it diagnosed as early as possible. Other risk factors of an aortic dissection include Chronic Hypertension, Old age, weakened arteries & severe Chest pain etc. Normal ECG in a hypertensive patient should create suspicion of Aortic Dissection.

Speaking about the achievement Dr AravindanSelvaraj, Executive Director, Kauvery Hospital said “It is important to note that the ongoing pandemic has not stopped us from providing timely diagnosis and lifesaving treatment. I congratulate cardiothoracic surgical team headed by DrAR Raghuram for saving the patients from a life threatening situation”.