39-year-old Rekha was suffering from severe headaches and visual blurring for the last five years. When a team of doctors, which consisted of neurologists Dr. Rajnish Kumar and Dr. Sunil Singla and Neurointerventionist Dr. Nihar Kathrani at Paras Hospital, investigated her further, it was found that she had increased brain pressure which was causing the narrowing of the brain venous outflow and thus the given symptoms. Her symptoms were progressive despite the best medical management. The patient was offered the treatment of brain venous pressure monitoring and stenting, which is a minimally invasive procedure performed without any anesthesia, just by two small millimeter size punctures in the groin. The procedure was successfully performed by Dr. Kathrani and eventually the brain (intracranial) pressure was reduced and the vision of the patient was saved.

Speaking about the case, Dr Rajnish Kumar, Senior Consultant and Unit Head of Neurology at Paras Hospital, Gurugram, said, “Venous Sinus Stenting is a minimally invasive procedure for the treatment of medically refractory IIH and patients with fulminant vision loss. As the name implies, it involves placement of a metallic mesh in the shape of a tube (stent) in the area of narrowed vein in order to expand the vein and resolve the narrowing to aid in reducing the intracranial pressure. This treatment is relatively new, safe and minimally invasive as compared to other invasive surgical options like CSF shunting, optic nerve fenestration etc. As it does not involve the general anesthesia, the patient can be discharged on the same day of the procedure. ”

“Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) happens when high pressure around the brain causes symptoms like headache and visual blurring. It is quite a prevalent but under diagnosed condition, mainly affecting in middle aged females. The minimally invasive treatment options like venous sinus stenting is rarely offered to the patients, as it requires a thorough understanding of the disease dynamics and high expertise”, added Dr. Kathrani.

 Cases like this generally need hospital like Paras Hospitals Gurugram, where medical facility is advanced. The hospital has also launched a specially dedicated helpline number 7009899091 for Neuro issues like stroke. The team has been handling many such complex neurological problems on a regularly basis. The hospital is privileged to help many patients to cure or prevent neurological deficit.