Operation succour a success, docs back from Nepal

“Why should I live? What will I be able to do? Who will take care of me?” These were the questions of a 14-year-old boy who was rescued and brought to a medical camp from a quake-hit region in Nepal.

The boy’s legs had to be amputated after serious injuries. His parents died after a building came crashing down on him following the earthquake. “It was emotionally stressful when I had to treat the boy. I have left my number with him and have asked him to keep me updated,” said Dr Asha A, medical officer, Primary Health Centre, Konena Agrahara.

Asha is among a team of 13 doctors from the State who were deputed to Nepal and returned to the City on Monday.

Dr Manjunath, Resident Medical Officer, K C General Hospital, who was a part of the ortho team, said, “We were operating upon a 60-year-old male patient who had a hip fracture when tremors were felt. In just minutes, all the support staff and nurses ran out of the operation theatre out of fear. Only me and another orthopaedic surgeon stood by the patient hoping that nothing would happen,” he said.

The team had carried about 1,200 kg of medicines which was handed over to the director of Tribhuvan Teaching College. Now, a charity pharmacy has also been set up to distribute medicines to the poor, he added. The ortho team treated 42 patients in camps and operated upon 52 patients.

“On an everyday basis, we perform about six surgeries. But with an intention to help as many patients as possible, we used to perform 10 to 14 everyday,” Dr Manjunath said.

Speaking about the challenges they faced, Manjunath said that the team used to attend to patients in temporary camps and would take them inside the hospital only for surgeries as it was unsafe to keep patients inside.

Dr Srinivas, chief supervisor, Karnataka State Drugs Logistics and Warehousing Society, said, “It was a tough terrain to cross. A tremor can push us down several thousands of feet below the valley,” he said.

His family accepted his decision to be a part of the team deputed to Nepal even though they were aware of the dangers involved.

“My family was also scared. After my return, they told me that they spent sleepless nights during my stay there,” he said.

“The airport was occupied by the Air Force and it was the first-of-its-kind experience for many of us. There were tremors of a magnitude of 4.5 on the day we landed,” he said.

When the team landed there nearly 48 hours after the quake, they came across several emergency cases. “Some people had lost their hands, while others their legs. They had lost all their family members,” said Dr Srinivas.