Young Woman Saves Life of Road Accident Victim in Gurgaon

Paras Hospitals Honours the Good Samaritan; Hawa Singh ACP Gurgaon Police, Gurgaon joins the hospital in felicitating the woman who rushed the victim to hospital without delay; Despite severe traumatic injury, the young man was saved by timely response and medical action within the crucial Golden Hour
Gurgaon: Thousands of people in India suffer from severe traumatic injuries every year on deadly Indian roads. However, not many of them survive the mishaps, mostly due to indifference of the witnesses and subsequent delay in getting the right medical attention.

Mohit, 28, a resident of Gurgaon was a fortunate rare case who after having been hit by a car, not only found a noble citizen’s help immediately but also reached the right emergency care at the right time.
Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon on March 18 organized a special program to honour the Good Samaritan who by performing her duty to help a fellow human being in need, has set an example for an entire city, which is often derided for its indifference and lack of civic sense. Commissioner of Police, Gurgaon,Mr Hawa Singh, joined the ceremony and commended the good work done by the young woman.

Ritika Dhawan (30), was passing by when a motorcycle-riding Mohit was hit by a car. Without wasting any time, she immediately rushed the severely injured Mohit to the emergency department of Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon.

Without wasting any time, the team of Trauma Specialists at Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon took to the task of saving the patient’s life. Dr. Imtiyaz Gani Reshi, Head, Emergency Department; Dr. Meenakshi Sharma, Senior Consultant, General & Laparoscopic Surgery and Dr. Naveen Satija, Consultant, General & Laparoscopic Surgery immediately came on board and decided after close examination to operate him without delay.

“Mohit was brought to the hospital with severe trauma and in a state of shock; he had a feeble pulse and very low blood pressure. He was aggressively resuscitated and underwent a CT scan which revealed large amount of blood in his abdominal cavity. Realizing he had suffered a potentially life-threatening internal injury, we immediately shifted him to the operation theatre. During surgery, he was found to have approximately 4 liters of blood in the abdominal cavity, a large tear in the right lobe of liver, with the blood vessel supplying the small intestine also torn. Both the injuries were bleeding profusely and even a slight delay in treatment could have proved life-threatening to him. During the immediate surgery, his injuries were repaired meticulously and bleeding was controlled,” said Dr. Meenakshi Sharma, Senior Consultant, General & Laparoscopic Surgery, Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon

Postoperatively the patient required multidisciplinary ICU care, ventilator support and multiple blood transfusions. He is now on his way to recovery.

“It is very encouraging to see a young citizen save the life of a fellow human being. As a society, we need more such socially conscious citizens who can play such positive roles. We often hear and read about road accident victims not being attended to by witnesses and passersby in India. We salute this young woman and want to send out a message to every citizen in the city that they should not think twice before helping people involved in road accidents. In the case of this patient, even a small delay in surgical treatment could have been fatal for him. At Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon, we have a highly trained and dedicated staff specially equipped to deal with trauma patients who need specialized emergency care. Out of all emergencies in a day, as many as one-third of the patients we receive are trauma patients,” added Dr. Imtiyaz Gani Reshi, Head, Emergency Department, Paras Hospitals, Gurgaon

Mr. Hawa Singh also praised the young woman and said the example set by her was worth emulating by everyone.
The case highlights the importance of Golden Hour in case of accident and injury victims. In India, awareness about the importance of Golden Hour is abysmally low.

In?emergency medicine, the?Golden Hour?refers to a time period lasting for one hour, or less, following?traumatic?injury, during which there is the highest likelihood that prompt medical treatment will prevent death. ?It is basically a concept that emphasizes the urgency of care required by major trauma patients to prevent early deaths predominantly from bleeding. The patients’ chances of survival are highest if they receive care within a short period of time after a severe injury.

Cases of severe trauma,especially internal bleeding require?surgical?intervention. Complications such as?shock?may occur if the patient is not managed appropriately and expeditiously. It therefore becomes a priority to transport patients suffering from severe trauma as fast as possible to specialists, most often found at a?hospital?trauma centre, for definitive treatment. Because some injuries can cause a trauma patient to deteriorate extremely rapidly, the lag time between injury and treatment should ideally be kept to a bare minimum; this has come to be specified as no more than 60 minutes, after which time the survival rate for traumatic patients is alleged to fall off dramatically.