15-yr-old receives free treatment after falling from second floor

Udhayakumar had sustained serious abdominal injury and the liver suffered a rupture and he struggled with severe bleeding. He was shifted from a Dharmapuri hospital to the city owing to his deteriorating condition. 

“As we have interventional radiology facility here, the family was hopeful to see some progress,” said hospital dean Dr Ponnambala Namasivayam. 

As the Udhayakumar had severe internal bleeding, the team of doctors, including the surgical gastroenterologist, anaesthetist and interventional radiologist, evaluated him on June 13 and decided to arrest the bleeding through a procedure called Angio Embolisation – a minimally invasive procedure where the blood vessel that is affected is reached with the help of a catheter through a hole created in another blood vessel in the thigh. 

“In this particular case, we accessed the blood vessel in the liver and blocked it in a procedure that took the doctors about an hour. The bleeding was stopped immediately, ensuring that he was out of danger. He was observed in the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital overnight and was able to walk the next day. He is now fit for discharge,” said the dean. 

While the treatment would generally cost more than Rs 3 lakh in private hospitals, it was performed for free under the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme.