Grandad has UK’s first fibre optic-guided blood vessel surgery

For the first time in the UK, surgeons at Guy’s and St Thomas’ have performed complex procedures using fibre optics to guide their way through a patient’s blood vessels.

This pioneering technology uses hair-thin optical fibres threaded through a patient’s blood vessels to create real-time, 3D colour footage when doctors implant medical devices in a patient.

The operating team at Guy’s and St Thomas’ used the fibre optics to successfully fix an abdominal aortic aneurysm in a 72-year-old grandfather. An aneurysm develops when a portion of the aorta (the main pipe which carries blood from the heart to all areas of the body) weakens, causing a bulge. This then has a risk of bursting - a situation which can be life-threatening.

Led by Bijan Modarai, professor of vascular surgery and consultant vascular surgeon, the team at St Thomas’ Hospital performed a minimally invasive procedure guided by the fibre optic technology that is being developed by Philips. This involves inserting a stent graft in through the groin and up the body to repair the aorta. The stent graft is a device customised to the patient’s body which provides a new lining in the aorta, sealing above and below the bulging area to exclude the aneurysm.

These highly complex procedures in the blood vessels (known as endovascular procedures) are usually done using a series of x-rays to guide the surgical team and to ensure the stent graft is properly fitted. However, repeated radiation exposure can pose risks to the patient and the operating team.

The high-quality images of the fibre optic technology could enable surgeons to complete procedures quicker, more accurately and with improved safety. The technology could be used for all endovascular procedures, with the eventual aim of allowing x-ray free navigation, not just for aneurysms but for any intervention aimed at repairing a diseased blood vessel.

Guy’s and St Thomas’ is one of nine centres in Europe and the USA using this pioneering technology to develop its possible uses in surgery.

Prof Modarai said: “It’s very exciting to have fibre optic technology. It means that complex endovascular procedures can be done with less requirement for x-rays which is safer for the patient and our teams. The 3D anatomical visualisation of the patient also gives us a more intuitive workflow, which could mean faster procedures.”

Kevin Dowd, a retired printing company owner from the Isle of Sheppey in Kent, was the first patient in the UK to be operated on using the new method.

Kevin, who is a grandad of 10, was unaware he had an aortic aneurysm until it was revealed in a scan for a previous heart bypass 11 years ago. His condition was monitored and although he had no symptoms, the aneurysm grew and needed treatment.

He said: “Professor Modarai instilled in me a confidence. He told me all about what he’d do, and that I would be the first person in the country to have this. I felt I was in good hands, I trusted him. Everything went fine and I’m recovering, going on my walks every day and getting back to myself again.”

Abdominal aortic aneurysms are more prevalent in men aged over 65, with 4% of 65 to 74-year-old men in the UK diagnosed as having one. Treatment depends on the size of the aneurysm and its risk of rupture. Endovascular repair is used most often. Other options include open abdominal surgery.