Food pipe inserted in acid attack victim’s stomach

“A gastroscopy (examination of the stomach) was performed Saturday and after noting the extent of her burns,doctors at Masina Hospital decided to shift her to Bombay Hospital. She has become weak and it was very difficult to move her. The railways has written to the hospital that they will pay for the treatment,” said Preeti’s cousin Lalit Solanki.

“She was brought here on Saturday in a weak condition. She has been put on ventilator,” said a spokesperson for Bombay Hospital.

Lalit said Preeti had been running a fever for a week and a CT scan was conducted Monday morning. “The scan showed there was water in her lungs and that she had pneumonia. Her food and respiratory pipes have become fused as a result of ingesting acid. This created difficulty in breathing in spite of a pipe inserted in her throat at Masina Hospital. The pipe in stomach will give her nutrition. Doctors said they will monitor her for 15-20 days before deciding to operate on her for burn injuries,” he said.

The procedures were conducted by plastic surgeon Ashish Kumar Gupta. “We performed a bronchoscopy (an inspection of the chest) as she had developed chemical pneumonia due to ingestion of acid. A jejunostomy (a hole made in the small intestine to insert a feeding tube) was then done as it is better to insert a pipe in her stomach. Her upper chest has suffered trauma and her windpipe and esophagus have become joined,” he said.

mumbai.newsline@expressindia.com