A bone-year-old baby girl from Yemen was successfully operated on for an extremely rare condition called ‘Vein of Galen Malformation’, a blood vessel abnormality inside the brain. A vein of Galen malformation (VOGM) is a type of rare congenital brain blood vessel abnormality. In VOGM, misshapen arteries in the brain connect directly with veins, instead of connecting with capillaries, which help slow down blood flow.

Dr Bhaskar MV, Chief Interventional Neuro-Radiologist, SPARSH Hospital, said, “A team of doctors treated the baby girl with a minimally invasive advanced neuro-interventional procedure called ‘Vein of Galen Malformation Embolization’, an advanced and delicate procedure to stop the fast flow of the blood flowing into the vein of galen. A microcatheter was introduced from the groin through the internal carotid artery (an artery in the neck that supplies blood to the brain) and passed up to the point of malformation. A high concentration glue is then injected into the catheter to the site of malformation under the cath lab fluoroscopy guidance. The glue sticks there and prevents high blood flow into the vein."