A 32-year-old man, who had allegedly been shot at point-blank range by a friend, was saved by doctors at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital after a gruelling eight-hour surgery.
The bullet had pierced the man’s liver, gallbladder and perforated the stomach, leading to intense blood loss. He is now stable and has been discharged from the hospital, doctors said.
The shooting had occurred on June 5 around 11pm. The man was first taken to a nearby super-specialty hospital, but after being turned away his family members brought him to Sir Ganga Ram. He was in a critical condition and bleeding profusely from a bullet wound in his abdomen.
“The patient was brought to us around midnight. By that time, we were prepared for surgery. Blood was ready and he was immediately rushed to the operation theatre. The bullet had injured his liver, gallbladder and perforated the stomach and duodenum, leading to a lot of blood loss,” said Dr Ushast Dhir, consultant, department of surgical gastroenterology and liver transplantation, who was also the surgeon.
Dhir added that the bullet had also shattered the man’s right kidney, which was constantly bleeding. “Around 1.5 litres of blood had accumulated in his stomach by the time he reached the hospital. The challenge was to save every organ injured by the bullet. The surgery was performed wearing specialised PPE kits in the wake of the prevailing pandemic,” said the doctor.
The surgery involved complex repair of each injured organ, which took over eight hours. The specialised kits had to be changed twice along with the masks for the entire team.
“We began the surgery around midnight and finished at 8.30am. Since the patient was relatively young, we didn’t want to remove any organ. We spent time meticulously mending each organ and removed the 1.5 litres of blood accumulated inside his stomach. The patient was then shifted to post-operative ICU. He has been discharged and a follow-up has also been carried out,” said Dhir.
Despite the prevalence of Covid-19, hospital officials said no patient suffering from any wounds was being turned away and immediate care was being provided to life-threatening injuries. “The way doctors operate has changed due to Covid-19. Surgeries have become more complicated, but our teams have been handling every critical case with the same priority as the viral disease,” said a doctor.
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