11th year old powai boy survives rare disorder, risky surgery

An 11th 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 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 has an aneurysm in his brain, which is extremely unusual in a child,” said Dr. Viswanathan Iyer, endovascular neurosurgeon Hiranandani Hospital.

According to Iyer, only 2 per cent of such aneurysms are found in children. An aneurysm is a widening or a bubbl 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 13th, 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 vasospasm (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, Raksh Pandey.