A 75-year-old patient with a 7-centimeter aneurysm in the splenic artery has recovered

In Şırnak, Cardiovascular Surgery Specialist Op. Dr. Volkan Burak Taban and General Surgery Specialist Op. Dr. Serhat Binici successfully completed a risky surgery to remove a 7-centimeter aneurysm in the splenic artery, restoring the health of 75-year-old Ayşe Ertur, who has many chronic diseases.

Ayşe Ertur, who was told at many hospitals in Mardin, Diyarbakır, Batman, Siirt, Gaziantep, and Şanlıurfa that her spleen needed to be removed but that she would not be able to get off the operating table if it was done, regained her health with a successful surgery at Şırnak State Hospital despite her many chronic illnesses.

Speaking to journalists about the operation, Op. Dr. Volkan Burak Taban said that the patient came to them from the gastroenterology clinic, where there was a suspicion of a serious aneurysm in the splenic artery. After evaluations, he stated that they requested medication tests, saying, “In the tomography performed, we saw that there was a significantly large aneurysm in the splenic artery, which we could call a giant aneurysm. Normally, to classify it as a splenic aneurysm, the bulging must exceed 20 millimeters, or 2 centimeters. But when we saw it, we were shocked. Because there was a splenic aneurysm of about 7 centimeters. Since the aneurysm was completely filled with blood, there was a risk of rupture at any moment. God forbid, we were also facing the risk of the patient losing her life. We immediately conducted a multidisciplinary evaluation regarding the patient. We evaluated together with both gastroenterology, our general surgery specialist Serhat, and our radiology clinic. The liver cirrhosis that the patient has been battling for 15 years also influenced our decisions.”

“The patient wanted to be treated in Şırnak”

Dr. Taban conveyed that it was risky for the 75-year-old patient to be operated on in Şırnak and that they communicated this situation to both the patient and her relatives. “Our patient and her relatives wanted to be treated at our hospital for years. We thought that open surgery could initially be risky for the patient. There was an incredible disturbance in blood values due to liver cirrhosis and other diseases, and surgery was quite risky. We first attempted to reach the splenic aneurysm via angiography through the groin, trying to close the aneurysm and place a stent in the splenic artery to prevent the aneurysm from rupturing. Our angiography took about 1.5-2 hours. We took the patient to the angiography room, and despite our efforts during the angiography, the splenic artery had expanded so much that it rotated with the vessels around it, making it impossible to catheterize the splenic artery. Even if we reached the interior of the splenic artery, we could not access the back. In our repeated evaluation, we thought it would be more appropriate for the patient to undergo surgery. We took our patient for an open surgical case. In the open surgical case, together with general surgery, we first made a small incision in the abdomen. When we entered, the scene we encountered was actually in worse condition than what we saw on the tomography or angiography. We repaired the splenic artery aneurysm and brought our patient out of surgery. After the surgery, our patient did not require intensive care. We transferred her to the service. When we looked at our values afterwards, there was no serious need for blood. In the subsequent control blood tests, everything looked quite good,” he said.

Kamil Ertur, expressing that they took his mother to many places for treatment but did not receive any positive results, said, “Our professors performed a very good surgery. Thank God, I thank them for their hands. How fortunate we are to have such professors in Şırnak. We took her to Diyarbakır, Mardin, Batman, and Adana. They said here, ‘if the spleen is removed, she won’t be able to get out of bed.’ Thank God, Volkan and Serhat performed such a successful operation.”