Despite his injured hand being kept in a splint, completely immobilised so that repaired structure is not disturbed, assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Harjit Singh is in high spirits, said doctors at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh. He will have to remain hospitalised for two weeks, they added.
50-year-old Harjit was injured in Patiala when a group of ‘nihangs’ chopped off his wrist and left two other Punjab Police personnel injured. This was after the cops stopped them from entering a vegetable market amid curfew to curb coronavirus.
Dr RK Sharma, head of plastic surgery department at PGI, said, “The good news is that blood circulation in the ASI’s hand was fine in the past 24 hours. We hope it remains the same in the next four days, which are crucial. The arteries and veins will take 2-3 weeks to heal following which, he will be discharged. We are expecting 90% recovery,” he said.
“The cop’s positive attitude is helpful as such patients tend to recover fast,” he said.
“While being brought to PGI from Patiala in an ambulance, he was worried about the treatment expenses. In the ambulance, he said I do not have much cash in my pocket,” said Patiala SSP Mandeep Singh Sidhu.
{{/usCountry}}“While being brought to PGI from Patiala in an ambulance, he was worried about the treatment expenses. In the ambulance, he said I do not have much cash in my pocket,” said Patiala SSP Mandeep Singh Sidhu.
{{/usCountry}}Dr Sunil Gaba, who led the team in surgery, said, “During the operation, we got connected with Harjit at the personal level. The real challenge was reattaching the arteries and veins attached eight hours so that the hand survives. One team looked after the chopped hand while the other took care of the wrist.”
The operation involved reattaching around 50 structures which was done under microscopic vision and is a tiring task. Full recovery of the hand may take up to six months.
Dr Jerry R John, an associate professor who was part of surgery team, said that such injuries are common but sharp cut, which was the case here, is an advantage.
“Mostly, in such cases, the body part is crushed which makes it difficult to perform surgery. But here the cut was sharp, which made it easier to make assessment and perform the surgery.”