“Are you free from pain? Are you ready to go to school?” R. Jayanthi, dean of Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) asked 16-year-old Gowrishankar from Tiruppur, as a row of cameras tried to capture the reaction of the soft-spoken teenager. “I feel much better,” he replied with a slight nod.
For nearly a year, Gowrishankar, a class XI student, had been experiencing pain in the abdomen and chest. A month ago, his parents brought him to RGGGH where doctors, on evaluation, found that he had a large aneurysm -- an enlargement of a blood vessel -- involving the abdominal aorta.
“The aneurysm was of the size of a small ball. It could rupture at any time, and the boy’s life was at risk. After the diagnosis, our team of doctors from the Institutes of Vascular Surgery, Cardiothoracic Surgery and Anaesthesia performed a five-hour-long surgery on October 30. They replaced the enlarged portion of the aorta with a ‘Dacron’ patch’, which is a graft made of synthetic material,” Dr. Jayanthi told reporters on Monday.
A condition called vasculitis, it was “extremely rare” in this age group, added N. Sritharan, head of department, Institute of Vascular Surgery, RGGGH. “In adults, it occurs in one in 2 to 3 lakh persons, and is very rare in this age group,” he said.
During the surgery, doctors cut out a part of the aorta and replaced it with the synthetic graft, he said, adding: “The aorta supplies blood to important organs such as the intestines and kidneys. This graft is permanent, and we will be monitoring the boy regularly. He will be on medications and will come for a follow-up once in six months.”
Gowrishankar’s parents – Mani and Maniyal – are agricultural labourers in Tiruppur and are relieved that their son is on the road to recovery. “He was very unwell for the last two months. He is doing well after surgery,” his mother Maniyal said.
For Gowrishankar, his short break from school has come to an end as he is all set to be discharged from the hospital.
The procedure was covered under the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme, and could have cost ₹5 to 6 lakh in a private hospital, Dr. Jayanthi noted. Joseph Raj, director, Institute of Cardiothoracic Surgery also participated.