Dangerously Low Oxygen Levels Normalized Through Complex Surgery

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
A complex surgery was successfully performed on a Tamil Nadu native whose oxygen level had dangerously dropped due to blood clots in the arteries of the lungs. The medical team at KIMSHEALTH Trivandrum, carried out the pulmonary thromboendarterectomy, a surgical procedure to treat chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension, a condition in which blood clots obstruct the function of the pulmonary arteries.

The 49-year-old patient, who was undergoing treatment for deep vein thrombosis, reported at KIMSHEALTH with severe shortness of breath and swelling in the legs. Although a coronary angiogram showed normal blood vessels, her oxygen level—which should ideally be between 95% and 100%—had dropped to a dangerously low 80%, posing a serious threat to her life. A subsequent CT pulmonary angiography revealed blood clots in the arteries of the lungs.

Doctors decided to proceed with a pulmonary thromboendarterectomy to remove the clots. With the aid of a heart-lung machine, the patient’s body temperature was lowered to 18 degrees Celsius to control blood flow and prepare for surgery. Blood clots in both the left and right pulmonary arteries were successfully removed. The surgery lasted approximately eight hours, during which blood flow was temporarily stopped and restarted every 30 minutes.

“After the surgery, the patient was successfully weaned off the heart-lung machine and placed on a ventilator in the ICU. A week later, as she was able to breathe normally without oxygen support, was discharged. Currently, the patient’s oxygen level has risen to 95%, which is within the normal range,” said Dr. Shaji Palangadan, Senior Consultant, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery.

Dr. Ramesh Natarajan, Senior Consultant, Department of Cardiology; Dr. Bhuvanesh M, Consultant, Department of Rheumatology & Clinical Immunology; Dr. Rohith S, Senior Consultant, Department of Respiratory Medicine; Dr. Zaynah Zainuddin, Associate Consultant, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery; and Dr. Subash S and Dr. Swapna Sasidharan, Consultants, Department of Anesthesia, were also part of the multidisciplinary team.