11-year-old Powai boy survives rare disorder, risky op

An 11-year-old boy, who developed an intracranial aneurysm (weakness in the wall of a cerebral artery), has
been called a ‘miracle child’, after he survived a very high-risk surgery.

Doctors said that such aneurysms are normally found only in adults, and one in a million children develop the
disorder. They also said that surviving the surgery and then completely recovering is very rare.

Last month, Powai resident Saurabh Pandey collapsed in school after throwing up several times. His teachers
rushed him to a nearby clinic, where doctor referred him to Hiranandani hospital.

“When he was brought to us, he was almost in the comatose state. We found that he had an aneurysm in his
brain, which is extremely unusual in a child,” said Dr Viswanathan Iyer, endovascular neurosurgeon at
Hiranandani Hospital.

According to Iyer, only 2 per cent of such aneurysms are found in children. An aneurysm is a widening or a
bubble in the wall of a blood vessel, caused by genetic defects, high blood pressure, or build up of fatty deposits.

When such a bubble appears in the arteries in the head, they are called “intracranial aneurysms.” Experts say
they are extraordinarily dangerous as they can burst anytime, filling the brain or skull with blood. 

Doctors performed an endo-vascular coiling procedure on Saurabh on December 13, and then kept him under
observation for a month. “The endo-vascular procedure is a surgery that involves putting a catheter to reach the aneurysm, and then block it using coils.

This is different from an open surgery, where the skull is opened up and clips are put on the aneurysm,” said Iyer, adding that these procedures ensure faster recovery of the patient. “We kept him under observation because there are chances of an occurrence of a vaso-spasm (narrowing of arteries because of the bleeding), on the 4th, 10th and 14th days.”

Saurabh has now been discharged and is all set to start going to school from Monday. “We were very scared
when we saw his condition, but he is absolutely fine now,” said Saurabh’s father, Rakesh Pandey. Saurabh’s problem Aneurysms are widening or a bubble in the wall of a blood vessel, caused by genetic defects, high blood pressure, or fat deposits. When such bubbles appears in the arteries in the head, they are called ‘intracranial aneurysms’ – a very condition for children Experts say they are extraordinarily dangerous as they can burst anytime, filling the brain or skull with blood, causing a stroke.

Most brain aneurysms cause no symptoms and may only be discovered during tests for another, usually
unrelated, condition. In other cases, an unruptured aneurysm will cause problems by pressing on areas in the
brain. When this happens, the person may suffer from severe headaches, blurred vision, changes in speech, and neck pain, depending on what areas of the brain are affected and how bad the aneurysm is.