Written By: Nirmalya Dutta | Updated : May 23, 2013 10:06 AM IST
The condition of Preeti Rathi, the Bandra acid attack victim has deteriorated to the extent that she had to be put on a ventilator, doctors told the TOI. She is in extremely critical condition and her lungs are failing. The docs at Bombay Hospital where she was shifted last Saturday said she wasn t showing any signs of improvement. Her condition has worsened since then.
Doctors claimed that she is suffering from chemical pneumonitis, which has led to the failure of her lungs. The acid had entered her oesophagus, wind pipe and trachea. Her right lung has collapsed, while there is a hole in her left lung and it is only partially functional. We have put her on a machine that is supporting her lung functions, said Dr Ashok Gupta, a plastic surgeon at the hospital.
Because her wind pipe has been damaged, air is escaping from it and collecting around the lungs. The pressure is preventing her from inhaling and exhaling fully, due to which she often feels breathless. We will keep her on ventilator for now because her condition deteriorates the moment we take her off life-support, added Dr Gupta.
Earlier the victim had undergone a procedure called a bronchoscopy which revealed that she had a hole between her wind pipe and food pipe and also a jejunostomy, a procedure in which a hole is made in the small intestine to insert a tube through which feed is passed on.
Her relatives had alleged earlier that Preeti s treatment had been mismanaged by Masina Hospital, from where she was shifted to Bombay Hospital though the Masina Hospital denies this allegation saying she wasn t stable and therefore they couldn t perform tests to find out if she was suffering from any damage in the throat region.
Preeti Rathi had come to Mumbai to join duty as a nurse in the Naval Hospital when she suffered an acid attack at Bandra station. She sustained severe burns to her face, neck, chest and arms and was critical for a few days after admission. Doctors treated her for her injuries but she had lost vision in her right eye. While she subsequently regained consciousness and could communicate only with written notes, she pleaded with the doctors to help restore her vision. She underwent stem cell therapy, where cells from her left eye were used to restore vision in her right eye. Read more about the full procedure which Dr Yasmin Bhagat, her treating surgeon explained to us.
