Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 22 (IANS): In what’s billed as just the third such surgery performed in the country, a leading private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram performed the percutaneous mesocaval shunt procedure for the first time in Kerala.

The KIMS Hospital authorities pointed out that the procedure was performed on a critically ill 25-year-old youth suffering from a rare abdominal disease, who came to the hospital with unbearable pain.

Following detailed examination, it was revealed that the blood vessels in the esophagus were at risk of rupture and the procedure was performed through a small pinhole, without resorting to complicated surgical procedures.

The doctors at KIMS pointed out that the patient developed this condition due to a blockage in the portal vein, which carries blood from the intestine to the liver.

This blockage resulted in high blood pressure in the portal vein and esophageal veins of the patient, who had previously undergone a splenectomy to remove the spleen.

The procedure was led by Manish Kumar Yadav, Senior Consultant, Neurointerventional Radiology Department, and was done without relying on traditional surgical techniques.

The three-hour long procedure was achieved by placing a tube-like shunt between the portal vein and the inferior vena cava (the vein that carries blood from the lower and middle parts of the body to the right atrium of the heart).

“The use of intravascular ultrasound and abdominal ultrasound helped accomplish this procedure with greater precision. Apart from alleviating portal hypertension, this also eliminated the risk of bleeding in the esophageal veins,” said Yadav, adding that patient is recovering well.