Eight-year-old Yousif had been playing in his home in Oman when an airgun pellet shot by another boy in the vicinity struck his neck, nearly damaging his windpipe. The pellet was stuck in a very sensitive area, with nerves and blood vessels, damage to which would be life-threatening. While no hospital in the country was willing to take the risk of surgery, Aster Medcity, Kochi welcomed Yusuf with open arms to give him a chance at life again.
Yousif arrived in Kochi, with his mother and father, a shop owner in Nizwa City, Oman. The parents had taken the child to many hospitals in the country but since the location of the pellet was too risky to operate on, no hospital agreed to extract the pellet and they were left with no aid. It is when Aster DM Healthcare intervened and send them to Aster Medcity, Kochi to be provided with immediate and vital treatment.
“Extraction of shrapnel is a risky procedure. If the shrapnel is not in a sensitive part of the body, we do not recommend extracting it as this may result in complications. But in Yousif’s case, CT scans showed that the pellet was in a very fatal position in front of the neck, millimetres away from his trachea and thyroid gland. Any sort of movement could damage his nervous system and arteries, resulting in loss of vocal capacity, internal bleeding or even death. The severity of the case is what made us move immediately and conduct the procedure as soon as possible.”, said Dr. Sajan Koshy, Paediatric Cardiac Surgeon at Aster Medcity, Kochi who has dealt with shrapnel extraction cases before.
The team of doctors consisted of Dr. Sajan Koshy, Dr. Abid Iqbal, cardiac surgeon, Dr. Suresh Nair, anaesthetist, were able to successfully conduct the procedure in a matter of two hours after evaluating the CT scan of the three-dimensional location of the gunshot pellet in Yousif’s neck.
“At Aster Medcity, our vision to extend a helping hand of healing transcends boundaries of gender, culture and international territories. We thank the family for putting their child, and their trust in our hospital and we are glad that we were able to deliver state-of-the-art healthcare to save his life”, said Farhaan Yasin, Regional Director, Aster Hospitals, Kerala and Tamilnadu.
Three months of risky ailing was able to be solved in a matter of five days, followed by a final check-up at the hospital. With a smooth post-surgery recovery, Yousif and his family were able to travel back to Oman.
