India
healthysoch
New Delhi, November 29, 2020 :
About 5 days back , a 16 years old boy Devesh from Bijnore , U.P reached the casualty of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in a critical condition . He had suffered a serious neck injury while using a crude device in the fields to scare monkeys and birds . In this device , Potash and Sulpher are stuck in metal pipe to create a blast which scares birds and animals .
Devesh was unlucky that during the blast a 2 cms sharp metal piece flew and pierced his neck. It got stuck into the spine bone.
According to Dr Rupinder . S. Chahal , Vice Chairperson , Department of Spinal Surgery , Sir Ganga Ram Hospital , “An initial look at the scans surprised us all. The metal piece had got twisted and seriously damaged the neck . It had pierced 1.5 cms of cervical bone , and damaged thyroid gland while narrowly missing great blood vessels , wind and food pipe. It was lodged just touching the spinal cord. Miraculously this boy was alive. “
According to Dr Sangeet Agarwal , Consultant , Head & Neck Surgery , Sir Ganga Ram Hospital , “It was a challenging surgery due to the location and nature of injury. The metal piece had to be reached without damaging great blood vessels which were in close proximity . Another challenge was to not only save but also to repair injured thyroid gland. Since the metal piece was bent and was penetrating so deep in the bone , it was very difficult to be removed in one piece . Still we managed to successfully remove it in a single piece without damaging cervical bone or any other critical organs. Otherwise it would have required a major reconstructive surgery.”
Dr Chahal further added , “Leaving this piece inside could have led to many complications. This was a crude metal with chemicals around it and could have caused infection and foreign body reaction. Moreover , metals are known to travel in body . Few millimetres of movement could have damaged the spinal cord and could have proved fatal.”
Now , Devesh is fit and walking and talking . He will be discharged soon .
Dr Chahal added , “It is high time that these animal scaring crude devices are banned as they lead to serious bodily injuries to humans. Instead modern electronic and acoustic devices should be used in the farms.”
healthysoch