Previously, no hospitals were willing to operate on him because he tested positive for the corona virus. (representative)
New Delhi:
A 19-year-old Covid patient, who was seriously injured in a collision between a bicycle and a bus, was saved from an amputation of his hand after doctors at a city hospital here performed a risky surgery two days later.
According to a statement from Aakash Healthcare Hospital, Dwarka, Rahul Sapkota was about to get his driver’s license on April 5, 2022, when a bus hit him from behind.
The blow was so strong that he fell from his bicycle and his right hand was crushed by the wheel of the bus.
He was taken to several hospitals over the course of two days, but no one was willing to operate on him because he tested positive for the coronavirus. On the third day, he was referred to Aakash Hospital, where doctors saved his life while adhering to all COVID-19 protocols, the health agency said.
dr. Aashish Chaudhry, Director and Chief of Orthopedics, Joint Replacement and Spinal Surgery said: “While performing emergency surgery on such Covid-positive patients, doctors must be very careful so that the infection does not spread to the treating physician team, and they must also take care of the medical situation in addition to the surgical difficulties. While caring for this patient, we had to take extra precautions.” “Rahul’s primary care and dressing were performed in a separate operating room reserved exclusively for Covid patients. PPE kits were worn by all doctors and nurses. The medical team, in addition to the surgical team, worked as one unit to kill life save the patient,” said Dr Chaudhry.
The patient’s forearm was badly crushed when he was taken to Aakash Hospital. “There was damage to the skin, muscles and tendons. He had already lost more than a liter of blood at the time of the accident, so he needed a blood transfusion,” the hospital said in a statement.
A team of doctors led by Dr Chaudhry and Dr Bharat Bahre, Additional Director, Orthopedics and Joint Replacement, cleaned the damaged tissues and applied the bandage as an emergency treatment, it said.
Skin grafting was performed once the tissue began to heal and the infection cleared. In this treatment, a thin layer of skin was taken from the patient’s thigh and used to cover the rough area over the wound.
“Because the blood supply to a distal part of the hand was intact in this case, we were able to save the hand even after two days of injury, which is uncommon.
“We have heard many stories in the past two years about people losing limbs or even their lives because patients could not receive proper and timely treatment due to Covid times. However, we were able to save Rahul’s life,” said Dr Bahre .
The operation took place on April 7.
Rahul now has a good functional range of hand movements and is currently undergoing regular physical therapy treatment and has been advised to exercise caution when lifting heavy objects, the statement said.
Road accidents claim the lives of more than 1.5 lakh people in India every year. One of the main reasons for this is that they do not receive the right treatment and help in a timely manner.
According to Dr. Chaudhry, providing proper first aid in such cases of road accidents is critical and can save lives. “The limbs must be immobilized and supported with braces,” he adds. “The bleeding should be controlled with compression bandages and the wound should be washed thoroughly with an antiseptic solution to prevent further spread of infection.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.)
