Amputations can be avoided using Stem Cell Therapy
By Dr. Ahmed Mohiuddin Siddiqui
One does not realize the blessings of the Almighty when everything is under control and all the limbs are intact. Ask those the value of limbs who lost them to amputation. Road accidents, diabetic foot and factory accidents lead to amputations at a huge psychological cost.
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Amputations, and particularly leg amputations, will be a thing of the past as Indian doctors show the way to avoid leg amputations by using first-of-its kind Stem Cell Therapy. A wonderful team of Mysuru Manipal Hospital doctors in southern India successfully performed stem cell therapy on a patient.
Addressing the media, Dr. Upendra Shenoy, cardiothoracic and vascular surgeon disclosed that: “Upon examination, an 88-year-old patient was found to have Critical Limb Ischemia (CLI) with gangrene in left foot.
“Our aim in such a situation is to first try to save the limb. Amputation should be the last resort when everything else fails.”
Doctor team of Manipal Hospital during the press briefing
On his part, Dr. C.B. Keshavamurthy, consultant interventional cardiology observed that: “Patient’s angiogram showed diffuse disease in all blood vessels of the leg with critical blocks in many areas.
“We performed angioplasty on the limb. The procedure improved the blood supply to the limb, but additional treatment was required to restore blood circulation to the foot and toes.”
Dr. Shenoy and team decided to use stem cell therapy, a hybrid procedure of peripheral angioplasty with stem cell injection. It is a first-of-its-kind procedure in Mysore, Karnataka State, India.
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“The stem cell therapy involves the injection of stem cells obtained from the bone marrow of healthy individuals. These stem cells can transform themselves into different tissues according to the requirement.
“In this case, the stem cells stimulate the formation of new blood vessels,” he said, adding: “On the day after angioplasty, we injected the stem cell into the calf muscles of the patient.
“The dose varies and depends upon the weight of the patient. If the weight is below 60kg, the doctor injects about 150 million stem cells. In patients with more than 60 kg, the dose is about 200 million.
“In this case, the patient is 45kg, so we injected 150 million stem cells into the calf muscle. Stem cells are stored in liquid nitrogen at around -196 degrees.”
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Dr Shenoy went further to say: “We need to give multiple injections in the calf muscles. We performed this under a regional block anaesthesia. It prevents the patient from feeling discomfort during and a few hours after the surgery.
“The stem cells are injected into the affected leg to promote new blood vessels growth called angiogenesis. This helps to avoid amputation.”
“The remarkable result of the surgery was satisfying. The patient was discharged the next day of the procedure and within a week after the procedure, the patient’s discomfort settled down and there was incremental improvement in his leg movement.
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“Within a month, doctors noticed that the gangrenous area was reduced considerably in size. The patient reported an overall improvement. The procedure helped in avoiding amputation as well as in improving movement in the leg.
“Stem cell injection is generally for critical limb ischemia in which amputation becomes inevitable. In this case, the doctors performed an angioplasty and found that the patient needs advanced medical intervention to save the limb as there was significant damage in the distal vessels.
“So, a combination of angioplasty and stem cell therapy was used with success.”
Next time, if anybody known or unknown to you is confronted with a dire situation requiring leg amputation, suggest Manipal Hospital, Mysuru, to them to avoid leg amputation.
They may return to you with a healed leg and with blessings for you and a box of Mysuru Pak — a famous sweet from Mysuru. For diseases, let there be ‘happily ever after endings’!
Mysuru Pak
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About the author
Dr. Ahmed Mohiuddin Siddiqui is a senior journalist and political analyst based in the. Middle East. He started his journalistic career with the Deccan Chronicle as Sub Editor cum Staff Reporter, where he was mentored by eminent journalist and author M J Akbar (Former Minister of State for External Affairs, India).
