The four-member medical board which was formed at the SSKM Hospital for the treatment of the Purulia girl has given a fresh lease of life to her by removing seven needles from inside her body through a critical surgery that lasted for two hours.
The doctors at the hospital removed three needles that got stuck near her liver while the other four were there at various places inside the abdomen. The patient will be kept under observation for the next 48 hours, a member of the medical board said. According to the doctors, the surgery was conducted on the patient successfully.
The medical board had conducted an MRI on the three-year-old girl to determine the number of needles that were actually stuck inside her body. The doctors also took help of C-Arm test to determine the exact position of the needles. It has been learnt that a hole measuring around four inches was created in her abdomen from where the needles were removed.
According to the doctors who carried out the operation, the needles recovered from her body have been found to be in a rusted condition and hence there is a possibility of infection. The medical board has, however, taken enough measures to prevent any
infection. The patient has been kept at the Critical Care Unit. Medicines would be given to the patient through saline. Some other tests will be performed on the patient on Wednesday.
In another development, a team of Purulia Police visited one of the relatives' house of Sanatan Thakur who had allegedly inflicted pain on the girl by pushing needles into her body. The team has, however, failed to get any trace of the accused there as he had not visited their house.
It has become difficult for the police to trace the accused as he is not carrying a mobile phone with him while being at large. The police are, however, conducting raids at various places in the state to nab the culprit who has been absconding since the incident came to light. It has been alleged that the girl was physically and sexually abused by Thakur who employed her mother as a maidservant at his native place in Purulia.
It was a challenge for the hospital doctors as the needles were found in critical places close to important organs. Hence, there was a risk in removing the needles from her body without causing any damage to the organs. The doctors did not take any risk and performed all the necessary tests to determine the position of the needles and their possibility of damaging the organs.
"The operation has been carried out successfully by the doctors in the hospital. The girl has been kept under constant monitoring," a senior official at the hospital said.