Miracle Surgery Saves Patient’s Legs: Combining Endovascular Intervention and Bypass Surgery for Complete Recovery

Mr. Minh, a 75-year-old patient, was suffering from leg pain and unable to walk due to an artery blockage in his lower limbs. A doctor performed a “2 in 1” intervention to save the blood vessels in his legs. On April 18, Dr. Le Van Tuyen of the Vascular Intervention Center at Tam Anh General Hospital said that when Mr. Minh arrived at the hospital, his legs were stiff due to severe blockage in the arteries of both lower limbs, especially occlusion of the iliac artery, femoral artery, and below-the-knee artery. If left untreated, this could lead to severe anemia in both legs.

Dr. Nguyen Anh Dung, Head of the Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery at Tam Anh General Hospital, explained that in similar cases, doctors typically perform a two-legged blood vessel bypass for both branches of the iliac artery and the femoral artery. However, Mr. Minh is an older patient with a history of hypertension, diabetes, coronary artery disease, and chronic kidney disease, so he was worried about his ability to undergo major surgery. Doctors decided to combine surgery and endovascular intervention for the patient to completely resolve the condition.

Within two hours, Dr. Dung bypassed the long-term blockage of the left leg artery and placed a stent at the blockage site in the left iliac artery. The team then revascularized the right thigh using very small incisions. The “2 in 1” procedure was performed to save Mr. Minh’s legs from necrosis risk. Afterward, he had no pain or numbness in both feet and was able to learn how to walk again before being discharged from