Surgeon saves 8-year-old girl pierced by iron rod through neck

 

 

Sumesh Rajan

Mumbai: 25 October 2022

 

Doctors at the government run District Hospital at Motipur in Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh, India won the praise of senior doctors and grateful family members when they removed a 3-foot-long iron rod that pierced through the lower jaw of an 8-year-old girl on October 4.

 

A medical team led by Dr Rajkumar Koli removed the rod without affecting the 8-year-old girl’s nerves and blood vessels to the brain.

 

Dr. Koli said that it was such a sensitive and delicate surgery that even a minor flaw could have turned dangerous for the child.

 

Taiba, who lives in Bhulanpur village, while playing with other children at an unde,r-construction building, accidentally fell on a protruding metal rod of a pillar. The road pierced through her lower jaw and came out of the mouth. The other children informed her family members, who rushed to the spot, cut a portion of the rod and rushed her to the nearest district hospital located 15 kilometers away at Motipur, at around 6 pm.

 

“In view of the critical condition of the girl, I was called to do the emergency surgery. I got the patient’s vitals checked and, understanding the danger, told the girl’s parents to take her to Lucknow Medical College (around 140 kms away). But the parents were not in a position to take the girl that far, and requested me to conduct the surgery,” said Dr Koli.

 

“It was a challenging situation as the x-ray facility at the district hospital is not available after 5 pm. I then immediately informed the anesthetist to apply local anesthesia and started the surgery to save the major blood vessels around the pierced area. The rod had firmly got stuck, and to loosen had to make a 1 cm cut and pulled the rod out slowly. The procedure took only about 35 minutes,” informed Dr Koli.

 

The doctor said the child was so lucky that the rod did not hurt the blood vessels to the brain and the windpipe. “Removing the rod without even mildly affecting those organs was a challenge,” said Dr Koli.

 

He added, “After stopping the bleeding outside, dressing the wound, and stabilizing her condition, the patient was shifted to the ward for recovery. After three days, the patient was discharged.”

 

“After the rod was successfully removed, the girl started talking within eight hours. Now the girl is absolutely doing well at her home and is able to talk and eat normally. It was the most grievous case I’ve encountered in my professional life,” he concluded.