Doctors at San Martín provincial hospital in La Plata have successfully carried out their first cerebral bypass, the Buenos Aires provincial health ministry said today. The patient was a 55-year-old woman who was at risk of a stroke.

The procedure is a microsurgical technique which allows blood in the brain to be redistributed. It is one of the most complex interventions in brain surgery, according to the health ministry.

The hospital’s neurosurgery and peripheral vascular surgery teams carried out the procedure by inserting a piece of artery taken from the patient’s forearm. She was suffering from a complex aneurism that was affecting the intracranial carotid artery. If the aneurism had burst, she could have had a stroke.

The operation provided alternative paths for the blood flow in her brain, since the blood was circulating through arteries affected by the aneurism.

The procedure consists of joining two arteries using tiny stitches, redistributing blood flow to parts of the brain that blood is not reaching or where blood flow is insufficient.

The team at San Martín hospital was composed of doctors Maximiliano Calatroni and Aníbal Romano, surgeons Hernán Ríos and Julián Koladynski, and a crew of anesthetists and assistants.

The operation was possible thanks to the joint work of the Vascular and Brain Stem Neurosurgery department, medical residents, and the heads of service and operations, according to the provincial health authorities.

Source: Télam