The lady had undergone Gamma Knife Surgery in 2006

Manipal Hospital, Kolkata, the second-largest healthcare provider in India, achieved another milestone in patient care by conducting anticonvulsant treatment on a 26-year-old mother of an infant. The procedure includes a diverse group of pharmacological agents, primarily used in the treatment of epileptic seizure, and was performed under the expertise of Dr Ansu Sen, MD, DM Consultant Neurology Manipal Hospital Salt Lake.

Ria Ray (name changed), a resident of Kolkata staying with her in-laws suffered from left hemiparesis, a weakness on the left side of the body and Arteriovenous malformation (AVM) in the year 2000. AVM is an abnormal tangle of blood vessels that connects the arteries and veins disrupting the normal blood flow and oxygen circulation in the brain. Ria underwent Gamma Knife surgery in another hospital in 2006. The surgery is a radiation therapy used to treat tumours, vascular malformations and various other abnormalities in the brain. This year Ria was brought to Manipal Hospital with a complaint of headache seizure and left hemiparesis. She needed immediate diagnosis and the doctors at Manipal Hospital conducted a CT scan of the brain. The CT images revealed acute bleed in the right ganglio capsular region and thalamus with perilesional oedema.

The next step undertaken was CT Angiogram (CTA). It is a 30-minute procedure performed using a combination of a high-tech scanner and sophisticated computer analysis that provides 3D images of the blood vessels in the brain. The diagnosis revealed small clusters of vessels in the ganglion capsular region and corona radiata with feeding arterial supply from a terminal. branches of the right Internal carotid artery and M1 segment of the Middle cerebral artery. Proximal draining veins are seen from a branch of the Right Superior Petrosal vein.

Dr Ansu Sen MD, DM Consultant Neurology Manipal Hospital Salt Lake said, “Ria had already undergone Gamma Knife therapy and her postoperative period was uneventful. It resulted in brain oedema, we opted for anticonvulsant treatment for the patient as it calms the hyperactivity in the brain in many ways.  He also stated that the treatment is commonly used to cure epilepsy and controls seizures in 7 out of 10 people.”

Ria was later orally injected with Levetiracetam, to treat the onset of seizures. She is consciously hemodynamically stable. She has no complaints of seizures and is looking after her infant. She is also able to breastfeed her baby. Her hemiparesis has improved and she is under a follow-up.