A unique, life-saving surgical procedure, performed for the first time in Goa, saved the life of a 60-year-old female patient, who was suffering from ‘extensive deep venous thrombosis, which can result in a severe life-threatening condition as it can cause part of the clot to migrate to the lung causing pulmonary embolism.

According to a statement from the Hospital on January 7, the patient, whose name was not disclosed due to reasons of privacy, walked into Healthway Hospital in Old Goa with a history of significant swelling and pain in her left lower limb.

Examination by the hospital’s surgeons and tests conducted using the venous Doppler and CT Venogram revealed that she was suffering from extensive deep venous thrombosis, which, in normal parlance, is referred to as ‘blood-clots’ in the deep veins of the left leg, which was causing her severe agony.

Gauging the severity of her condition, the patient was advised a high-risk catheter-directed dissolution of blood clot (thrombolysis) in the veins of the affected leg in the cardiac cath lab. The procedure was performed under local anaesthesia, through a small venous puncture in the vein of the right groin. Introduction of a small micro-catheter from the right groin and crossed to the left within the blood clot.

Thrombolysis was then induced with the help of a thrombolytic drug, Alteplase, infused in the deep veins of left leg for 48 hours. After 48 hours, a check venogram of her affected leg revealed complete resolution of the blood clot with dramatic reduction in pain and swelling of the left leg. Following the procedure there was no complication like bleeding. The patient was discharged on the third day itself.

The advanced procedure, though high risk, is unique for Goa. In normal course, thrombolysis is done through a systemic vein, where the drug circulates all over the body and can result in internal organ bleeding. In this particular case the chances of bleeding are negligible, as the drug was administered locally, at the site of thrombus with the help of a specially designed micro-catheter.

“This was not a routine procedure. It is done in rare cases. This procedure needs a proper protocol, requires a cath lab set-up. Previously systemic thrombolysis was the treatment of choice. This unique procedure was attempted for the first time in Goa, considering the severity of the case,” Dr Bossuet Afonso and Dr Nikhil Sontakke, doctors of Healhway Hospital said in the statement.

The medical professionals who were part of the hospital’s team, handling the unique case comprised of Dr Bossuet Afonso (General Surgeon), Dr Nikhil Sontakke (interventional Cardiologist), and personnel from the Cath Lab team at Healthway Hospital.