Teen critically injured in quad bike accident saved

Rashid Hospital doctors use minimally invasive procedures to treat aortic injury

An 18-year-old Emirati youth was saved by a team of doctors at Dubai’s Rashid Hospital after being critically injured in a quad bike accident in the desert.

The teen, who was suffering from polytrauma and heavy bleeding, was brought to Rashid Hospital’s Trauma Centre on January 7 at 1:30am, where a multispeciality team of vascular surgeons and interventional radiologists opted for minimally invasive procedures to save the patient.

Dr Ayman Al Sibaie, consultant interventional radiologist at Rashid Hospital, said that the patient was in critical condition after he severely injured his aorta (main blood vessel). “We decided to go ahead with the endovascular approach as it is minimally invasive and less risky compared to open surgery. Through the use of advanced technology we repaired the aorta by stent-graft method. We inserted a catheter in the groin region and implanted a stent graft in the aorta to stop the bleeding and restore normal blood flow,” he said.

Dr Ahmad Saadat, interventional radiologist at Rashid Hospital, said in such cases, timely intervention is crucial to a patient’s survival, as approximately 80 per cent of patients with thoracic aortic injury die at the scene of the trauma.

“The patient was brought in at 1.30am and by 4am the procedure was completed,” he added.

Dr Saadat explained that clinical diagnosis of patients with the same injuries who make it to hospital is difficult.

“The signs and symptoms are non-specific and distracting injuries are often present. The advantages of endovascular repair over open repair are that they are less invasive than open surgery.”