MGM Healthcare Chennai successfully performs India’s first CT guided Minimally Invasive Neuro Surgical Procedure on a patient from Bangladesh

MGM Healthcare, a multi-specialty quaternary care hospital in the heart of the Chennai, today announced that it had successfully performed a CT guided Minimally Invasive Neuro Surgical Procedure on a 28-year-old patient from Bangladesh- for the very first time in the country. The surgery was successfully performed on 7 th September 2021. A multi-disciplinary team lead by Prof. Dr. K Sridhar – Director, Neurosciences and Spine at MGM healthcare successfully conducted this complex minimally invasive pain-relieving procedure on the patient.
A young mother Mrs. Sheuli Goldar aged 28 from Bangladesh was suffering from severe left sided pain of the nape of neck and head for the past 9 years. The constant pain caused her intense agony, and hampered her daily activities including taking care of her 8-year old child. Speaking about the case, Dr. K Sridhar explained “The patient was anxious to get relieved from the unfathomable pain and they sought medical expertise from various hospitals both in their country and in India. She underwent multiple scans, consultations and different treatments were tried in some of the top hospitals – but none could offer her any relief. She was then referred to our hospital for further assessment and treatment.”
He further added,” We conducted a high resolution 3T MRI scan with MR neurography and diagnosed that the pain was emanating from the left Cervical C2 Dorsal root ganglion, high up in the neck. Once we had a clarity from the scans about the underlying issue, the only possible treatment option was to perform a procedure which would destroy the pain fibers of the ganglion – which is a neural junction in general terms. But this was quite difficult as the patient had already been subjected to multiple procedures at other hospitals and also, the anatomy of the region was extremely complex with important blood vessels and the spinal cord in close proximity.”

“We had to be extremely cautious while planning the procedure in order to avoid a major risk of paralysis or death due to the precarious location of the ganglion. With the technological advancements and the expertise available at MGM Healthcare, we decided to perform a minimally invasive intervention over an open surgery. A CT guided Radiofrequency Ablation procedure was planned with the help of our highly experienced Interventional Radiology Team.”
Prof. Dr. Navin Gnanasekaran and Dr. Arunkumar, Senior Interventional Radiologists said “We converted the CT suite into a temporary sterile operation theatre. The two-part interventional procedure was commenced using live high-resolution CT images and laser marker guidance. In the first part, the ganglion was accurately targeted and a mixture of steroid + long acting local anesthetic injected. This is called a ‘Block’; and once the patient confirmed the disappearance of the pain after the block, the second part of the surgery was performed. After administering general anesthesia, a state-of-the-art cooled Tip Radiofrequency Probe was positioned in the near vicinity of the ganglion and the ablation surgery– which is thermal burning, was commenced. Accurate temperature of the target ganglion was monitored throughout the actual procedure which lasted a mere 2.5 minutes. Dr. Ponnaiah, Chief of Neuro Anesthesia and Neuro Critical Care ensured that the patient was comfortable under anesthesia and monitored the patient through the intervention”.
The Radiologists added “We have performed a number of radiofrequency procedures on other organs of the body, but an RF ablation surgery for C2 dorsal root ganglion under CT guidance had never been attempted before in India. It was a big challenge, and we’re glad we were able to perform it with zero complications. CT guidance for minimally invasive neurosurgical procedures is definitely more accurate and precise, with significantly reduced risks.”

Mr. Harish Manian, CEO, MGM Healthcare said, “We are truly happy with the outcome of this first CT guided neuro surgical procedure and hope that the patient is able to lead a healthy and normal life. I also commend the efforts of our team of experts as it helps us in becoming one-

stop cost effective destination for any health concerns.”

The hospital is happy to report that the patient has underwent the surgery successfully and has been ridden of the pain completely for life.

Speaking on her experience the patient said “I would like to thank the clinical team led by Dr. K Sridhar at MGM Healthcare for giving me a fresh lease of life. I would like to thank the nursing team for their tireless service during these testing times.”