Mysuru

An 88-year-old gentleman presented to Manipal Hospital Mysore with blackish discoloration of the heel of left foot. He was diabetic & was on regular treatment for the same. For the current problem, he had already received several medications including intra venous antibiotics with little improvement. Upon examination he was detected to have Critical Limb Ischemia (CLI) with gangrene of heel of left foot. Large number of such patients end up with amputation of leg. Our aim in such situation is to first try to save the limb. Amputation should be the last resort when everything else fails. Said Dr. Upendra Shenoy Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeon Manipal Hospital Mysore, while giving details about the patient. While addressing the media Dr. C B Keshavamurthy Consultant Interventional Cardiology, Manipal Hospital Mysore said, Patients 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 implement stem cell therapy, hybrid procedure of peripheral angioplasty with stem cell injection. First of its kind procedure in Mysore. 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, said Dr Upendra Shenoy while explaining about the therapy. Dr Shenoy further added, On the day after angioplasty, we injected the stem cell into the calf muscles of the patient.

The dose depends upon the weight of the patient. If the weight is below 60 kg, the doctor injects about 150 million stem cells. In patients with more than 60 kg, the dose is about 200 million.

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