Health Corner

Baby attacked by mongoose,treated

In a horrific incident,a mongoose viciously attacked a 45-day-old baby’s face leaving the baby severly deformed. Ayush,the baby was sleeping in his cradle when the incident took place. His mother had gone out after feeding him while Ayush’s father was out working at the time of the incident. Ayush’s plight drew the attention of neighbour army officers,who rushed him to the hospital. After preliminary treatment in government hospital they approached Dr Sumit Saxena,Plastic and cosmetic surgeon who came to their help offering his expertise free in Inlaks and Budhrani Hospital. The Sadhu Vaswani mission provided all hospital facilities for use without charging anything.Explaining the complex procedure involved in Ayush’s facial reconstruction Dr Saxena said,“When the child came his nasal openings were blocked and were not visible. He was breathing through his mouth. This was leading to growth retardation. My first step was to open the nostrils. Having lost his nose,both upper and lower lips,with surrounding skin also badly scarred,reconstruction is difficult. Moreover he is just five months old and underweight. We have done two stages and given the child patent nostril and lower lip at present. Next step would involve framework for his nose and upper lip.” Baby was given anesthesia by anesthetist Dr A Kapse,Dr Tripathi and Dr Sejal Khandelwal in these stages.