City-based doctors conduct complex surgery to save 6-year-old girl’s hand

City-based doctors conduct complex surgery to save 6-year-old girl’s hand

PUNE: The hand of a 6-year-old Yemini girl was saved at a city-based hospital after she met with a road accident six months ago. The specialist doctors at the hospital diagnosed a traumatic brachial plexus injury which was responsible for paralysis of the girl’s upper limb.

After the accident, the young girl was brought to the emergency department of a hospital in Aden, where she remained for 3 months in an unconscious state. As she regained consciousness, her parents noticed she had weakness and reduced muscle power in her right upper limb. She was unable to lift her arm and bend her elbow.

Desperate to find a solution, her parents found out about the Pediatric Hand Surgery Department at Jehangir Hospital in Pune. 

Dr Abhijeet Wahegaonkar, Adjunct Professor of Hand Surgery at Jehangir Hospital said the brachial plexus is a complex network of nerves that originate near the neck and shoulder.

“These nerves begin at the spinal cord in the neck and control the hand, wrist, elbow and shoulder. Brachial plexus injuries most commonly occur after an accident, sports injury or during childbirth and can leave the arm without function,” said Wahegaonkar. 

The young girl’s nerves were cut during her accident causing her right upper limb to be paralysed. Although brachial plexus birth palsy is frequently seen in infants and children, traumatic brachial plexus injury is rare in children, with an incidence of less than 0.1 per cent.

“In my 20 years of practice, this is the first such case I have seen. Usually, such injuries are seen at birth, during forceps delivery or a traumatic injury at birth. Even in road traffic accidents, such an injury is usually not seen in adults. Should the limb not recover in 4 to 6 months, surgery is the only recourse of treatment in such a case,” explained Dr Wahegaonkar. 

The hand surgery team led by Dr Abhijeet Wahegaonkar included Dr Satish Mane, Dr Anup Bansode and Dr Chaitanya Karande-Patil. 

The surgery lasted for 7 hours with an inter-disciplinary team of pediatric hand and microvascular reconstructive surgeons, paediatricians, neurologists, anaesthetists and physiotherapists.

“The nerves in children are small and delicate. It’s a risky area with several vital structures in the vicinity. Surgeries and treatments are time-bound. We spent a week in preparation of the surgery and now the post-operative care will continue for 6 months,” said Dr Wahegaonkar. 

Even though the young girl reached the doctors late, the doctors are positive about the outcome. “In such surgeries, the success rates are 90 to 95 per cent and because she is a child, we hope the body will help in healing faster. Hopefully, she will be able to lead a normal life,” said Dr Wahegaonkar.

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