Iraqi patient undergoes rare procedure at Gurgaon hospital

New Delhi, Nov 23 (PTI) A 66-year-old Iraqi patient who was suffering from malena, dark sticky feces caused due to gastrointestinal bleeding, has received a new lease of life after undergoing a "one-of-its-kind rare procedure" at a hospital in Gurgaon, doctors said on Wednesday.

The woman looked extremely pale and weak when she came to the hospital and diagnosis suggested that she had an "enlarged spleen with low hemoglobin along with severe iron deficiency," according to doctors.

A team of doctors at the Fortis Memorial Research Institute performed the "power spiral enteroscopy procedure", the hospital said in a statement, claiming it was "a first" for Haryana.

An MRI of abdomen was conducted and it revealed that she was suffering from liver cirrhosis. An endoscopy of the stomach was also done and it showed angiodysplasia, an abnormal vessel in the wall of the intestine, it added.

The procedure of spiral enteroscopy was adopted as it is the latest technique to evaluate and manage small bowel lesions or small intestinal lesions.

Over the period of one year, 16 units of blood was transfused to the patient, in Iraq, because of internal bleeding and low hemoglobin, according to the hospital.

"We used the power spiral enteroscopy on the patient and it revealed that there were 20 abnormal vessels in different parts of the small intestine,” said Rinkesh Bansal, additional director of gastroenterology and hepato-biliary sciences.

This method helps in examining the entire small intestine within 30-45 minutes, in comparison to the usual 8-10 hours, and locate lesions at the same time, Bansal said.

"This advanced method enables us to operate and remove all the abnormal vessels in the same sitting,” the statement said.

The procedure is timesaving when done through capsule endoscope and less tiring in comparison to an enterscope, it said.

The process aids a smooth and safe insertion, allowing complete visibility of the intestinal lumen. Power spiral enteroscopy has transformed diagnostic and therapeutic procedures related to bowel diseases, it added.

Power spiral enteroscopy is a new method to evaluate and treat small bowel ailments. It is a minimally invasive technique with a motorised endoscope and a specific motor. The spiral section of the motorised spiral enteroscopy is rotated by an internal motor controlled by a foot pedal.

It can be used to control small bowel bleeding, dilate strictures or narrowing, cut tumours, and remove foreign bodies as part of its therapeutic potential. This is a useful diagnostic and therapeutic tool in small bowel bleeding, narrowing, tumour and foreign bodies, the statement said. PTI KND HMB