K-P docs repair aortic aneurysm

PESHAWAR: For the first time in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, doctors at Rehman Medical Complex (RMI) successfully performed a surgery on a patient of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) at the hospital.

According to an RMI press release, AAA is abnormal dilatation of the aorta (largest blood vessel of the body). If this aneurysm ruptures it leads to death within a few hours. It doesn’t cause any symptoms and patients therefore don’t know about it.

It is a disease of the elderly (above 60). Traditionally it’s fixed with open surgery that is associated with high preoperative mortality, prolonged hospital stay and complications. Endovascular Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms Repair (EVAR) is a minimally invasive approach in which AAA is repaired by placing stents via small puncture in the groin artery to seal the AAA.



This requires planning, technology and skills and is considered as a challenging procedure. The first such procedure in K-P was successfully performed by Dr Aman Nawaz Khan and Dr Azam Jan at RMI, Peshawar, said the press release.

Dr Ayman proctored the case from COOK Medical. The patient was 72 years old male with 7.5cm AAA. The procedure was performed on Saturday. The patient made an uneventful recovery and was discharged on Monday. No intra or post procedural complication was encountered.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 3^rd, 2017.