Media Release

Mangaluru, Dec 16: KMC Hospitals, here, added yet another feather to its cap. The department of Gastroenterology successfully performed the first endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) guided coiling of coastal Karnataka. The procedure was successfully accomplished with the help of an endoscope using EUS and platinum coils by a team of doctors comprising of Dr Anurag J Shetty, Dr B V Tantry, Dr Sandeep Gopal, Dr Suresh Shenoy and Dr Sunil B V.

The case in hand was a middle-aged man with liver disease who used to suffer recurrent episodes of vomiting of blood. On evaluation, the patient was found to have a complication of cirrhosis, where large swollen veins in the stomach wall had ruptured causing internal bleeding and vomiting of blood. In spite of multiple episodes of routine endoscopic therapy, the patient failed to respond adequately. Hence, the patient was offered this advanced procedure with the help of an EUS.

Left to Right - Dr Suresh Shenoy, Dr Sandeep Gopal, Dr Sunil B V, Dr Anurag J Shetty and Dr B V Tantry

Speaking on the success of the procedure, Dr Anurag J Shetty said, “Normally patients are offered endoscopic glue injection for the treatment of swollen veins in the stomach, the results of which are not very satisfactory. EUS is a sophisticated endoscopic instrument that allows doctors to visualize areas of the gastrointestinal tract which are beyond the reach of a regular endoscope. In this procedure, using an EUS the interior of the swollen veins was visualized and multiple platinum coils along with glue were placed inside making sure that the swollen blood vessels are closed. This has been found to be more effective than the regular endoscopic procedures and more cost-effective compared to other angiographic techniques.”

Congratulating the department on its achievement, Dr Anand Venugopal, medical superintendent of the KMC Hospital, Mangaluru, said, “Earlier, patients used to be referred to distant places for the above procedures. Now with the successful performance of EUS guided coiling, KMC Hospitals is the only healthcare provider in the region to offer this procedure. KMC has been offering high-quality diagnostic and therapeutic EUS procedures since its introduction in 2017. The gastroenterology department of KMC Mangaluru is the oldest and largest in DK district equipped in offering advanced facilities like EUS, third space endoscopy, Hydrogen breath testing, Capsule endoscopy, Double balloon enteroscopy and ERCP along with regular diagnostic and therapeutic gastroscopy and colonoscopy.”