Guyana records first paediatric brain aneurysm surgery

Jun 02, 2021 News

Kaieteur News – Guyanese Neurosurgeon Dr. Amarnauth Dukhi has successfully conducted the country’s first paediatric brain aneurysm surgery. The groundbreaking procedure was performed by Dukhi and his team on a 13-year-old patient at the Woodlands Hospital, Carmichael Street, Georgetown.

Guyanese Neurosurgeon, Dr. Amarnauth Dukhi.

The recipient of the life changing operation this time is Ty David. The St. Rose’s High School student is expected to make a full recovery from the surgery performed on Monday night.
Speaking to the Press at the aftermath of the operation at Woodlands yesterday, Dukhi noted that David’s case was brought to his attention by paediatrician Dr. Hardat Persaud after the teen lost consciousness owing to severe headaches. The doctor noted that a subsequent CT scan revealed that teenager had suffered a spontaneous rupture, which resulted in extensive bleeding in the brain.

Ty David is expected to make a full recovery after an aneurysm procedure.

Dr. Dukhi explained that the condition is quite rare and required careful and critical treatment: “Brain aneurysms are something that are more frequent in adults – as matter of fact for 100,000 kids below 15-year-old 0.05 to 0.09 is the frequency rate, so if you have 100,000 kids less than 15-year-old, less than one kid will have a brain aneurysm. That’s how rare it was and it is.
Now any brain aneurysm that is ruptured is considered in neurosurgery to be extremely, extremely critical with immediate danger to that patient’s life.”
In relation to David’s case, Dr. Dukhi explained that it was a huge aneurysm whereby it affected the right internal carotid artery. The doctor noted that given the rarity of the condition, in usual circumstances, the patient would have had to travel overseas for emergency surgery. He said too that the procedure overseas could cost up to US$200,000.
However with assistance from Neurospine Services Inc., he was able perform the procedure for 10-15 percent of that cost. Dr. Dukhi has been collaborating with Neurospine Services Inc. to offer aneurysm surgeries in Guyana for close to two years now.
“It was also my first attempt to do a paediatric brain aneurysm. The previous six that we would have done were adults; those were okay. This child had a successful surgery last night .The procedure went extremely well,” Dr. Dukhi said.

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