Srinagar, Nov 23: For the first time, the Department of Pulmonary Medicine SKIMS conducted Airway stenting procedure with the flexible video bronchoscope system at SKIMS Soura.
Dr Nazia Mehfooz, Assistant Professor, Department of Pulmonary medicine at SKIMS told Greater Kashmir that this rare procedure was performed for the first time in Kashmir.
She said that it was a team effort of our department including the critical care department, general anesthesia department in the presence of our Director at SKIMS.
Dr Nazia said that this patient from Pulwama district had a food pipe cancer due to which he was operated on in the month of March.
“Soon after the surgery, the patient was discharged from the hospital. He again came back in the emergency due to respiratory ailment. We did an endoscopy in which we found that his lumen was blocked. Then, CT scan was also performed and we again found that the CA oesophagus has metastasized into the lymph nodes of his lungs. His nodal lesion size 40x 36 mm centred around the left main stem bronchus which caused a total collapse of his left lung ,” she said.
She said that they also performed bronchoscopy due to which his left collapsed lung was open and functioning well. “We had given general anesthesia to the patient. The patient has been shifted to the radiology ward,” she said.
The surgery was conducted by the Department of Pulmonary Medicine team including Director SKIMS and EOSG, Prof. Parvaiz A Koul, Prof. Sonaullah Shah, Dr. Nazia Mehfooz, and Dr. Zubair Ahmad Thoker) supported by the Anesthesia team headed by Dr. Altaf Hussain Mir and Dr. Irfan Hussain Dar of Anesthesiology alongwith the team of technicians.
HOD General Medicine at SKIMS, Prof. Sonaullah Shah said that the procedure was conducted on a 35-year-old male, who was a case of operated CA oesophagus with nodal recurrence compressing his left main bronchus causing collapse of his left lung with hypoxemic Respiratory failure.
He said that,” in view of non-affordability and difficulty in transporting this patient outside of J&K due to severe respiratory failure for this procedure, the Pulmonary medicine team decided to conduct this procedure at SKIMS Soura. After arranging all the logistic support, the procedure was successfully performed. The patient is now scheduled for radiotherapy.”
He further said that routinely this procedure is done by a rigid bronchoscope system under general anesthesia. Previously patients were referred to outside for airway stenting.
These types of palliative procedures are important in giving quality life to such patients and will be continued by the Department in future to avoid referral outside UT of J&K.
Director SKIMS, Dr. Parvaiz A Koul congratulated the Department for conducting the procedure and assured support on behalf of the administration for such endeavors in future.