A rare and very complex surgery saved the life of a 27-year-old youth at Wockhardt Hospital recently. The man met with an accident near Balaghat and fell in a creek. He lay there for over three hours before some passers-by noticed him and took him home. As his condition deteriorated and he fell unconscious, family members brought him to Nagpur.
Dr Vaibhav Agrawal, who treated the patient, told TOI that the X-ray and primary investigations revealed that the rib cage of this person had multiple fractures. “Six out of eight ribs were fractured. His lungs were also ruptured and chest was filled with blood and air,” said Dr Agrawal. Immediately, the blood accumulated in his chest was removed in an emergency procedure. “The most important thing to keep in mind while treating such patients is pain management. Our team did it efficiently,” Dr Agrawal said.
The trauma team included Dr Nitin Kimmatkar, Dr Vaibhav Agrawal and Dr Rahul Zamad. As the patient had multiple complications, a multidisciplinary treatment was planned for him.
Dr Nitin Kimmatkar said it took two days to stabilize the patient, after which they decided to operate upon his rib fractures. “His chest ribs were fixed with plates and screws, which is generally avoided in the surgical fraternity, as it is a very complex procedure and needs high skills. His lungs were ruptured and filled with air. We had to act very gently while repairing the lungs to save his life. We did two surgeries on this patient in a single sitting,” said Dr Kimmatkar, adding that the first surgery was done for scapula (shoulder blade) and one for fracture of ribs.
Anesthesiologist Dr Rishikesh Awode played an important role in handling this case. The patient was discharged recently in stable condition and doctors claim he will start leading a normal life soon.
“With advanced technology and multidisciplinary approach, we were able to save another valuable life and achieve a milestone in healthcare,” said Abhinandan Dastenavar, centre head, Wockhardt Hospitals, Nagpur, adding that the city has already emerged as a medical hub of central India and many complicated trauma cases can be managed in Nagpur now.
Dr Vaibhav Agrawal
Internal Medicine
Wockhardt Hospital, Nagpur
