Road traffic accidents (RTA) have been claiming many precious lives in the western Odisha region and are increasing day by day. If the RTA victims are able to reach a well-equipped hospital like JP Hospital, Rourkela, within golden hours, there is a very high chance of survival and successful treatment. In another accident case, handled by JP Hospital, a 32 years old lady from the Fertilizer area of Rourkela, was riding on an auto on NH -143 near the Deogan area and this auto got hit by a 10-wheeler truck. The impact of the hit was so strong that this resulted in severe spinal cord damage.
This patient admitted under Dr.Susanta Kumar Patro JP Senior Consultant Neuro Surgeon, was unable to walk from the date of the accident.
Prior to coming here, this patient was getting treated at a reputed Cuttack hospital but even after 3 months of treatment there, no improvement was seen. The patient came back to Rourkela and visited JP Hospital. After the initial assessment, Dr.Susanta Kumar Patro along with other specialist consultants including Dr.Debasish Panda, Dr. Prabir Kumar Roy, Dr.Sumona Paul ( all from JP Critical Care Department), and Dr.R N Mohapatra (Neuroscience Department) diagnosed the patient as having traumatic cervical spinal cord injury with cord compression, quadriplegia(a symptom of paralysis that affects all a person’s limbs and body from the neck down) and, diabetes mellitus (a disease of inadequate control of blood levels of glucose)
After all requisite clinical investigation, Dr.Susanta Kumar Patro started readying the patient with pre-operative preparation, as the damaged spinal cord needed to be fixed surgically. This was the most critical stage in the course of treatment and everything depended on this. The patient was required to be fully fit for surgical intervention. Along with conservative treatment protocol in ICU, advice from a general physician for diabetes mellitus and regular physiotherapy session was also incorporated.
After all pre-operative preparation, the patient underwent anterior cervical corpectomy (a procedure that removes damaged vertebrae and intervertebral discs from the spine in the neck, using a surgical approach through the front of the neck) and was put on mechanical ventilator support in the ICU. Gradually this patient showed improvement and was shifted to the ward for further clinical management. Over a period of time, the vitals of the patient became stable and she started taking oral food and feeling better day by day. Finally, the patient was discharged in a conscious and stable condition with more physiotherapy sessions under Dr. Malaya Ranjan JP Physiotherapist. Dr. Susanta Kumar Patro says “ Initially we were also a bit apprehensive about her condition. But fortunately, the patient started responding to our treatment protocol positively and showed remarkable courage. We are very happy to give her a new life”
The patient and her family members were very much obliged to JP Hospital & JP Doctors that she will be able to lead a normal life after 4-5 months. At the time of discharge, their eyes were full of tears. Dr.Susanta Kumar Patro concluded “The biggest reward for us at JP Hospital is when a patient leaves with tears of joy. Nothing can be better than this”
