A 13 years old girl from Haripal, Hooghly was suffering from severe headache since last 1 year. Recently she has developed weakness in both hands & unable to eat with own hands. Her father is a manual laborer in a Gold Jewelry Shop. Her mother is a ‘Swasthya Sathi’ beneficiary since 11th Dec 2019, eligible under deprivation criteria on SECC D7 (Landless households deriving a major part of their income from manual labour).

The girl suffers from a rare genetic disorder, MOYAMOYA, that is a rare condition in which the blood vessels (internal carotid arteries) that supply blood to the brain narrows. This limits the flow of blood to the brain, and puts them at risk for stroke. The brain tries to make up for reduced blood flow by growing new blood vessels, called collateral.

Moyamoya is a progressive disease that does not improve without treatment. While it itself is not curable, surgery to provide alternative blood flow to the brain prevents the symptoms related to moyamoya and can provide an excellent long term outcome with significant stroke risk reduction. The family had a checkup at Institute of Neurosciences, Kolkata. She underwent various tests on the premises on 27th August, 2020 and finally was prepared for operation on 29th August, 2020 which continued successfully for 8 hours. The doctors followed a procedure for left-sided Encephaloduroarteriomyosynangiosis (EDAMS), a surgical procedure performed most commonly in children with MOYAMOYA disease, with intracranial atherosclerotic disease as a form of indirect revascularization to bypass the occlusive terminal internal carotid and/or circle of Willis vessels. This will be followed up with a right side procedure after 4 months.

The total procedure was rendered cashless through ‘Swasthya Sathi’ Smart Card. The girl is recuperating & due to release on 2nd September, 2020.