Doctors have been at the frontlines of the COVID-19 war ever since the pandemic marked its place in our lives. Without them, the fight against the highly contagious disease would have been impossible.
However, some doctors have gone out of their way to ensure their patients do not lose their lives and one such example is a doctor from Gujarat. Dr Sanket Mehta, an anaesthetist saved the life of a 71-year-old Dinesh Purani who needed urgent intubation for ventilator support, reported Times of India.
The 37-year-old doctor had tested positive for COVID-19 and was admitted in the ICU due to breathlessness and low oxygen level.?
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According to doctors, intubation of a collapsed patient needs to be done within three minute or there could be permanent brain damage. Dr Mehta was on oxygen support but even then he did not hesitate for a second to rescue the critically-ill elderly COVID-19 patient.?
Dr Parshottam Koradia, CEO of BAPS Hospital told TOI,?¡°Intubating critically ill patient is the job of an anaesthetist. The elderly patient (Purani) was rushed into the ICU with an urgent requirement of intubation. Since the doctors have to follow the COVID-19 protocol, our own anaesthetist?could have taken 15-20 minutes to reach the ICU after wearing the PPE kit. In the meantime, Dr Mehta removed his high flow nasal cannula (HFNC) ¡ªoxygen support and intubated the patient.¡±
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Presently, Dr Mehta is still on oxygen support and is in stable condition.?
The hospital staff were taken by surprise when Dr Mehta, who was just two beds away from Purani in the ICU, removed his oxygen support and while gathering his strength, walked towards the patient's bed and intubated within quickly.?
Dr Koradia added, ¡°The elderly patient is still on the ventilator in the ICU and his condition is stable. Dr Mehta is in the hospital for the last 10 days battling Covid-19. He is unable to talk much due to weakness and breathing difficulty. He himself requires about six-litre per minute oxygen, but intubated Purani."
Dr Hiral Shah, vice-president of Surat Anaesthetic Association (SAA) told TOI, ¡°Though Dr Mehta could not walk properly, he went to the patient without HFNC and intubated him. It could have cost him his life, but he he saved the life of the patient.¡±
Dr Mehta used to work with BAPS Hospital up until a few years ago and then he started his own private practice as visiting anaesthetist?in private hospitals.?
What a noble deed indeed.
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