After multiple surgeries, 22-yr-old on the road to recovery

After a tragic accident, 22-year-old Karan was left with blockages in more than 99 percent of his airway (a condition known as Tracheal stenosis - Grade 4), a fractured nose, dismantled dental structure and a with pronounced limp.

However, after several unsuccessful operations, he underwent a rare surgery conducted by doctors at Safdarjung Hospital, which proved to be a silver lining for him.

"We had attended Karan at the Emergency care where he was brought in an almost dying state. Preliminary check up revealed that the patient could not breathe properly. Also, he had almost 99 percent airway obstruction," said Dr Abhay Singh, ENT Surgeon, Safdarjung Hospital.

"Our emergency team was shocked to investigate the critical condition of the patient, who could not breathe but was surviving in this state for the past few months. The patient had a very low chance of survival. The doctor's team immediately took him for the curative process and gave him tracheotomy (an incision in the windpipe made to relieve an obstruction to breathe)," said Dr Gul Motwani, Head of department, ENT, Safdarjung Hospital.

In March 2016, Karan had met with a fatal accident and incurred several serious facial injuries. He was given medical care in a private hospital in Agra, but his airway blockage could not be rectified. Hence, he was discharged with oxygen support.

Following the incomplete treatment, Karan's parents admitted him in a reputed government hospital in Jaipur. "Doctors couldn't diagnosis his actual problem. They referred the case to All India Medical Science where surgeons put him on wait for two months," said a relative of Karan. He further added that "Karan was still on oxygen support and didn't wish to give up."

"After a few recommendations, we took Karan to another government-run hospital in Delhi but could not succeed in availing treatment for him. He was on the mercy of God. Meanwhile, doctor's referred our case to Safdarjung Hospital and surgeons at emergency gave us a ray of hope," the relative added.

Later, Karan underwent one of the biggest airway surgeries, 'Tracheal Resection and Anastomosis', conducted by the Safdarjung Hospital team. "I did a reconstruction and the patient has yielded good results. His body has been responding and recuperating but he will need one more surgery," said Dr Singh. "Every time he visits me, he gives us his word of thanks which brings out the humanity both in patients and doctors," he added.