Critical surgery in SSKM grants man new lease of life

Kolkata: In a critical surgery, the SSKM Hospital has given fresh lease of life to a 75-year-old man who had an arrow stuck in his chest.

The victim Ram Chandra Behra, a resident of Jhargram in West Midnapore, suffered an arrow injury during a clash that broke out between two groups over some dispute in the area. An arrow pierced the chest of the victim. The incident took place on December 6.

Following the incident, local residents rushed the victim to a hospital in Nayagram where he was given primary treatment. But the doctors in the hospital failed to remove the arrow as it was stuck in a critical position. The doctors found that there was a possibility of other organs of the victim getting damaged in the process.

On December 7, Behra was shifted to SSKM Hospital. The doctors in SSKM examined the patient and carried out necessary tests to found out the condition. A special team comprising doctors from the Cardio Thoracic Vascular Surgery (CTVS) department and General Surgery was formed for conducting the surgery.

The doctors did not want to take any unnecessary risk while performing the surgery of the patient. A series of medical tests were performed on the elderly patient to ascertain if there was any possibility of damage of organs. But there was no option other than conducting surgery to remove the arrow.

The team of doctors finally decided to conduct the surgery. In the hours-long surgery, the doctors successfully removed the arrow without hurting the organs. According to a senior official of the hospital, the arrow was in a critical position inside his body and hence there was always a possibility of other organs getting damaged in the process. But the doctors performed the surgery with great patience.

According to hospital sources, the patient has been recovering well and he will be released from the hospital within the next couple of days.