Artery dilated twice size of tennis ball treated without surgery

A 70-year-old Indian army veteran had what’s arguably the largest dilated artery on record until doctors treated him of the condition—without surgery. Scans showed Braham Singh, who also served in the 1971 Pakistan war, had a dilation in his splenic artery—an artery in the stomach that supplies blood to the spleen. The dilation measured 9cm […]

A 70-year-old Indian army veteran had what’s arguably the largest dilated artery on record until doctors treated him of the condition—without surgery.

Scans showed Braham Singh, who also served in the 1971 Pakistan war, had a dilation in his splenic artery—an artery in the stomach that supplies blood to the spleen.

The dilation measured 9cm long and 8cm across, nearly twice the size of a tennis ball.

Normal arteries measure up to 9mm, and experts would recommend surgery when a dilation exceeds 2cm or causes pain.

“This was even larger than a tennis ball. When I saw the CT scan, I knew why our army man was suffering,” said cardiologist Dr Sameer Gupta who treated Singh at Metro Hospital and Heart Institute, India.

Known as Giant Splenic Artery Aneurysm, the condition is rare. Only 78 cases have been reported around the world, and less than 15 of them treated without surgery. An aneurysm occurs when the artery expands because the walls are weak.

Singh’s case is one the biggest to be treated non-surgically—and aneurysms that size have potential to rupture without warning, causing blood loss and death.

Singh had gone through previous treatments for persistent pancreatitis and abdominal pains for four years at different hospital, and long duration of pain had made him “very frail and weak”, unable to undergo surgery, his doctors said in a case report.

Challenging navigation

To reach the aneurysm, doctors would have had to go through “particularly complex” four 90-degree bends and a 360-degree loops, making navigation to the site of the dilation challenging.

“This compounded with the very large size of the aneurysm made the procedure very complex,” said Gupta.

“However using specialized equipment and novel techniques we were able to successfully stop blood flow in the aneurysm.

“We used only two coils while still preserving blood flow to the spleen. We were able to complete the procedure in less than a hour and the patient was awake the entire time talking to me.”