A 36-year-old woman was recently treated for a brain injury following cardiac arrest. The woman had delivered a child three months before the injury. During the cardiac arrest, she suffered anoxic brain injury (caused by interruption in blood flow and the consequent deprival of oxygen).
The woman, who was on a student visa with her husband, was flown to the city from Dallas, U.S., for treatment. Her family reached out to rehabilitation centres in the State, and they contacted doctors at the Kauvery Hospital.
“Arranging the travel, internationally termed as ‘aero-medical evacuation’, was a huge challenge, as the patient was dependent on oxygen support and a bed,” said G. Balamurali, head of the department of spine surgery at the hospital. He is also the managing director of the Hamsa Spine and Brain Rehabilitation Centre.
At the hospital, the woman underwent tracheostomy, and is being administered two litres of oxygen a minute. She is able to recognise faces, but her speech and movement are yet to return. The woman was accompanied by an American-Board certified physician, Ilango. There were several challenges in arranging her travel, as she was flown via Doha, Qatar.
In Chennai, a trained medical team transported her to Kauvery Hospital, where she was stabilised. She was then transported to the rehabilitation centre, Dr. Balamurali said. Kauvery Hospital’s co-founder and executive director Aravindan Selvaraj said her recovery could be gradual but steady.
