Girl, who was saved by AIIMS Delhi doctors on Vistara flight, in ‘critical stage’: Nagpur hospital
The patient is unconscious and in a critical stage on a ventilator and on several live-saving drugs, said KIMS-Kingsway Hospitals.
A 14-month-old baby, who was saved by a group of doctors from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) New Delhi onboard a Bengaluru-Delhi Vistara flight on Sunday, is in a critical stage on a ventilator and on several live-saving drugs at a Nagpur hospital in Maharashtra.
"Late night on August 27, a critical medical situation arose involving an infant passenger a 14-month-old baby travelling on Flight No. UK814 of Vistara Airlines from Bangalore to Delhi. In a remarkable display of preparedness and professionalism, co-passengers from medical backgrounds on board promptly initiated life-saving measures by providing CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) to the baby passenger," said deputy general manager (communications) of Nagpur-based KIMS-Kingsway Hospitals Aejaz Shami in a statement.
Also Read: AIIMS doctors save girl’s life after her heart stops on flight
As the situation got critical, the airline team efficiently coordinated with Nagpur airport authorities for a emergency landing in Nagpur. KIMS-Kingsway Hospitals' ambulance was at service to ensure the seamless transfer of the Infant passenger to KIMS KINGSWAY Hospital, the statement added.
"At current, the patient is admitted under a Senior Consultant in Paediatrics and Neonatology, the patient is unconscious and in critical stage on ventilator and on several live-saving drugs. The parents and relatives are regularly counselled," said the statement.
What happened on the Bengaluru-Delhi Vistara flight?
1. On Sunday night, the group of five senior doctors of AIIMS was returning to Delhi after attending a medical event in Bengaluru. They were onboard the Vistara flight UK-814.
2. The flight crew made an announcement of a distress call before the aircraft was diverted to Nagpur. The distress call was regarding a two-year-old cyanotic female child, who was operated on for intracardiac repair and was unconscious and cyanosed.
3. The five doctors, including Navdeep Kaur- SR anesthesia, Damandeep Singh- SR cardiac radiology, Rishab Jain- ex-SR AIIMS radiology, Oishika- SR OBG and Avichala Taxak- SR cardiac radiology immediately examined the child and found that her pulse was absent, extremities were cold and she was not breathing with cyanosed lips and fingers.
4. Over the next 45 minutes, the doctors worked as a team, improvising medical equipment from whatever they could lay their hands on, and first revived, then saw her through two cardiac arrests, and finally ensured she kept breathing till the flight could make an emergency landing in Nagpur.
5. One of the doctors told HT that the child had a pre-existing heart condition so managing it on-air with limited resources was a major challenge.
6. He said the girl and her parents were returning from Bengaluru after her heart surgery for a congenital cardiac condition. The surgery was successfully conducted 21 days ago, but such post-surgery complications are not uncommon.
7. Even when the flight landed around 11.30pm at Nagpur, the doctors continued to assist the child, monitoring her vitals in an ambulance, till she could be handed over to a paediatrician from a nearby hospital.
