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Cuttack: Nine-year-old girl Manjula of Nabarangpur who suffered decay in one of her hands after she was bitten by a poisonous snake a month ago, underwent the first surgery on a portion of the affected hand at the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack on Friday.
A team of surgeons led by Dr Bibhusan Nayak, Head of the Department of Plastic Surgery, carried out the reconstructive surgery for several hours to heal the wounds on the patient’s hand.
“There is a big wound in the affected hand which is in a critical state. There is a possibility of loss of limb also. Surgery on the affected part was very much needed. Therefore, we have conducted the first phase operation in which we removed tissues from her belly and transplanted them on the affected parts. Her condition is stable now,” Nayak told OTV over phone.
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She needs blood transfusion and other related treatment at regular intervals for the improvement in her general health.
“In the next phase, we will conduct skin drafting on her arm and forearm having big wounds. After the final round of operation, her condition is expected to improve,” the doctor said.
Big injuries on the hand cause loss of blood plasma and fluids. There is also nutritional deficiency which ought to be resolved before the second phase surgery, Nayak said, adding that the functioning of the hand post-operation would be on the top focus of the treating doctors.
If everything goes well, the second phase surgery would be undertaken after three weeks, he said.
Manjula, a resident of Balijhor under Raigarh block in the district was suffering from agonising pain on her right hand due to decaying wounds which caused after she was bitten by a poisonous snake.
The snake bit her a month ago while she was playing in front of her house. She was admitted to Umerkote Community Health Centre initially and later shifted to district headquarters hospital for better treatment. Subsequently, the minor girl was taken to MKCH Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur.
Her condition slipped from bad to worse as the poor family couldn’t afford costly treatment. The neurotoxin venom of the snake has caused massive damage to her body tissues.
Her plight was first shown on OTV with an appeal to government for help.
After the news was aired, the State government swung into action and announced to foot her treatment expenses.
Manjula was shifted to SCB three days ago where her treatment started under the supervision of a team of experts from various departments including Surgery, Plastic Surgery and Cardiothoracic.
