Andheri bridge-collapse: 15 doctors fought for 14hrs to revive victim
Like every day, Asmita Katkar of Mumbai took the Gokhale Bridge on Tuesday too, after dropping her six-year-old son at his school. Suddenly, all hell broke loose: the bridge collapsed and she fell from 16ft, getting trapped under debris. Her face, left-hand and brain received severe injuries and she slipped into vegetative-state. A team of 15 doctors fought for 14hrs and revived her, successfully.
Next 48hrs crucial for Asmita, hand may need amputation
When she was admitted, Katkar had a broken jaw, damaged airway and a dangling left hand. The team of state-run Dr RN Cooper Hospital conducted multiple surgeries and have now restored her left-hand and stabilized her parameters. However, she continues to be on ventilator support; the next 48hrs will be crucial. Doctors said if blood clots in her left hand, it may need amputation.
Some behavioral changes may be observed, even on survival: Doctors
"There will be deficits, but we are trying to bring her as close to her previous self as possible," said head of plastic surgery Dr Nitin Ghag. Apart from Ghag, doctors from neurosurgery, plastic surgery, ENT, anesthesia, orthopedics, and general surgery departments came together to revive Katkar. They added even if she survives, some behavioral changes will be observed.
Jaw realigned, hand treated
Recalling that day, a doctor said while treatment for other victims was easy, Katkar needed special attention. Her CT scan revealed bleeding within her skull hadn't affected the brain, so focus went to her hand and face. ENT head Dr Shashikant Mhashal realigned her jaw while Ghag handled her hand. It stretched till 7PM. By dusk, however, her brain injury deteriorated.
When her brain injury deteriorated, doctors opted for risky surgery
Neurosurgeon Dr Shraddha Maheshwari decided to go for craniotomy, an operation in which a bone-flap is temporarily removed from the skull to access the brain. Almost 2hrs later, decompression surgery began, which lasted a whopping 6hrs. Katkar's "parameters worsened, but we managed to stabilize her," said Maheshwari. For the team, the main challenge was to maintain her blood-pressure, as her blood loss was huge.
We wish Asmita a speedy recovery
"It was a miracle she was surviving, fighting to breathe, even two hours after the accident," said a doctor. Katkar's husband Luv, who works in Vile Parle, said, "She moved her legs a little bit today (Wednesday)." The family is finding it hard to calm her son Siddhesh, whose persistent question is if his mother is alive. We wish the family all the luck.
