Ninety-three-year-old Dempster – or Dick to his friends – has recently recovered from COVID-19 where he became very unwell and nearly died.
Dick is in for surgery today with endovascular surgeon Craig, to clear a blocked artery in his leg.
A lack of blood supply to his foot has caused gangrene – a serious condition which means he is in danger of losing his foot.
Craig describes himself as a plumber and explains: “Today’s procedure is about trying to unblock those pipes, to turn the tap back on to get some much-needed blood back to the foot.”
This surgery isn’t without risk, but Dick is looking forward to getting out of hospital, into his bungalow – so he can look out at his garden.
Dick is too frail to have a general anaesthetic, which means he is awake and will be able to move throughout the operation.
The team have come up with a plan to deliver small amounts of anaesthetic into his back, which means the team can do the surgery without putting his life in any more serious harm.
The artery has been dissected out and now Craig must remove the blockage without damaging the artery, which is very fragile.
Craig adds: “Operating on someone in their nineties leaves little room for error, one wrong move and something gets torn it can quickly become unsalvageable.”
Craig is an hour into surgery to clear a blockage in Dick’s thigh – he has been awake throughout the operation. Craig stitches a thin piece of material into the defect in the artery, which will widen the artery slightly so when it heals the scarring won’t cause it to narrow.
The artery has been stitched leaving a small hole, this will be used to flush the artery to remove any debris so the blood can flow through cleanly. Having removed the blockage, the blood supply is now released back into Dick’s leg.
For the operation to be a success, it must run freely through the artery.
Craig adds: “What we want to hear is a nice woosh of blood flowing down his leg. For any vascular surgeon, the noise of a healthy doppler signal is certainly a welcomed sound.”
As everyone holds their breath in theatre, the hope is that the flow will be good enough.
The surgery is a success, and the Craig and his team are pleased with the blood flow back to Dick’s foot.
Dick’s operation was a success, but sadly he passed away three months later.
Dick Donkin: 1928 – 2022
