Minor girl overcomes crippling disability after rare surgery at SKIMS

Srinagar, Mar 8: A rare surgery performed at SKIMS Soura has helped an 11-year-old girl to overcome crippling disability, said a spokesman on Friday.
The Department of Neurosurgery, SKIMS conducted a rare procedure on the girl hailing from Baramulla, he said, in a statement.
She was admitted on February 20 in the Department of Neurosurgery and had weakness in the right side of her body for last few months and speech difficulties. “After a series of tests she was diagnosed as a case of Moyamoya disease,” said the spokesman.
“She underwent a complex surgical procedure; encephalo myosynangiosis and encephalo-duroarteriosynangiosis where, the blood vessels near the external ear and temporalis muscles were used for augmenting the blood supply of brain.”
He said the procedure took five hours and was performed for the first time in the state.
The neurosurgical team comprised Prof. Altaf Ramzan, HOD Neurosurgery, Dr. Nayil Khursheed and Dr. Kaiser Kariem along with neuro-anaesthetists Dr. Zulfikar Ali, Dr Sohail and Dr Zaka.
He said the patient is showing a remarkable recovery of her lost functions.
Giving details, Dr. Nayil Khursheed, as per the statement, said that the moyamoya syndrome is a cerebrovascular disease that predisposes affected patients to stroke in association with progressive stenosis of the intracranial internal carotid arteries which supply the blood to the brain.
The characteristic appearance of the collateral vessels on angiography is likened to “something hazy, like a puff of cigarette smoke,” which, in Japanese, is moyamoya.
Originally considered to affect predominantly persons of Asian heritage, moyamoya has now been observed throughout the world in people of many ethnic backgrounds, including American and European populations.
The incidence peaks in two age groups: children who are approximately 5 years of age and adults in their mid- 40s.
There are nearly twice as many female patients as male patients. The common symptoms are weakness of one side of body, headache, seizures, speech disturbances, memory loss and sometimes psychiatric symptoms.
Director SKIMS, Dr. Omar Javed Shah complimented the surgical team for conducting the excellent and rare procedure.
“The department has come a long way since its inception in 1982 and we look forward through these stalwarts who has made the department of neurosurgery a centre of excellence by the dint of their hard work and expertise which facilitates patient care,” he said.