41- year-old Ranil Alvarico Espina was gifted a new lease of life by a team of experts at Zulekha Hospital Sharjah. Ranil was experiencing severe pain in his chest that developed just prior to traveling from his home country Manila to the UAE where he lives. He sought medical advice and was prescribed analgesics to relieve the pain. Despite the medications, his pain did not subside and after arriving in Dubai, he immediately visited a hospital.
Following an echocardiography and a CT Aortogram examination, an Acute Aortic dissection type A with severe aortic regurgitation and dissection of the right coronary artery was revealed. An Aortic dissection is a serious condition in which the Aorta the largest artery in the body originating from the heart that supplies blood through branches to the body develops a tear that separates the lining of the Aortic wall into two layers and two lumens, a true and a false one .The Aortic tear if left untreated immediately may lead to rupture of the Aorta and sudden death.
Dr. Mohamed Ahmed Helmy, Consultant Cardiac Surgeon commented: “Ranil was referred to our hospital due to our previous successful management and experience in treating such critical cases. Due to the urgent nature of his condition, we decided to go ahead and perform a cardiac surgery by replacement of the Aortic valve and ascending aorta and a bypass to the right coronary artery using a saphenous vein graft with interruption of the circulation and cooling down the patient’s body temperature to 22°C to reduce the body metabolism and protect the brain during the surgery. Such cases require emergency intervention as the mortality increases with delays in treatment.”
The patient recovered well at the end of surgery and regained consciousness after four hours. The patient was extubated seven hours later with no neurological complications which is common after this type of surgeries.
Dr. Helmy added: “The mortality and complications of such type of diseases may reach 20 percent including conditions like neurological stroke or coma and bleeding. A fully experienced dedicated team including nurses, cardiac anesthetists, intensive care doctors and a cardiac surgery team were available to provide the patient with the best medical care and practice. ”
“I would like to thank Zulekha Hospital for the exceptional service, and for taking such good care of me. The team reassured me to treat my condition well so that I can regain a healthy life. That has made all the difference.” said Ranil.
The patient’s recovery took about eight days and Ranil was able to return to his normal life. He has been advised to maintain a healthy lifestyle by following a nutritious diet, incorporating regular exercise, avoiding stress and having adequate rest.
