Stent used for treating arteriovenous fistula

December 07, 2016 - 10:00

Doctors at Bình Dân Hospital have placed an intravascular stent to treat an arteriovenous fistula, or an abnormal connection between an artery and vein, in the left arm of a patient caused by a bullet 40 years ago.

CT scan image of the patient’s arm before the surgery. — Photo Courtesy of Bình Dân Hospital
Viet Nam News

HCM CITY — Doctors at Bình Dân Hospital have placed an intravascular stent to treat an arteriovenous fistula, or an abnormal connection between an artery and vein, in the left arm of a patient caused by a bullet 40 years ago.

The 46-year-old woman from the Mekong Delta province of Tiền Giang was brought to the hospital in pain and with severe deformity of the arm.

Dr Dương Duy Trang, head of the hospital’s interventional cardiology unit, said her left arm was 40 per cent larger than her right and could not hold anything.

A CT scan showed an arteriovenous fistula 10 millimetres across, he said.

The fistula caused blood to flow from the heart into a vein instead of artery, leading to a large swelling in the vein.

Besides, the abnormally large volume of blood from the vein caused her heart to work overtime, leading to a high risk of heart problems.

The doctors placed the stent to block the fistula.

The patient has been discharged. She can hold things normally now and no longer has pain.

The patient also wants the bullet to be removed, but Trang said since it does not affect other blood vessels, surgery to remove it is not necessary.

Vascular injuries caused by incendiary weapons are not common in the country, he said.

People with such injuries are reluctant to go to hospitals, and only do so in case of severe complications, by which time it is too late to recover body functions, he said.

Trang said that stent placement to treat arteriovenous fistula is performed at hospitals that have doctors trained in intravascular intervention and modern equipment. —VNS

 

 

 

 

 

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