AIIMS Trauma Centre successfully pulls off difficult surgery

The renowned JPNATC Trauma Centre of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, achieved a ground-breaking milestone by performing a successful surgery on a challenging case involving a stab knife injury to the back with the retained knife.

On 12 July around 1 pm, a 30-year-old male was stabbed in the back with a knife. He allegedly suffered the injury while defending his jewellery shop from robbers in Karnal, Haryana. He was shifted to the emergency room late in the evening on 12 July, and the surgical procedure of posterior decompression with removal of kink and posterior fixation which took 2 hours and 30 minutes. The patient’s condition upon arrival at the emergency room was critical, presenting a complex case requiring urgent attention and surgical intervention as the knife was just short of Vital Structures (millimeters away from the Major Blood vessel) and penetrated to 7-8 inches.

There were many challenges, like Careful transfer and Positioning to avoid any migration of the knife during anesthesia administered or intubated with the patient lying prone.
To ensure Careful transfer and Positioning to avoid any migration of the knife, anesthesia is administered or intubated with the patient lying prone, and exploration and exposure of the wound while working around the knife.

“When such incidents take place, one should not show negligence and try to reach places like the Trauma Centre where all facilities are available with skilled doctors because such negligence can lead to something dangerous,” said Prof Kamran Farooque. Prof Kamran Farooque and his team skilfully removed the retained knife blade while ensuring the patient’s stability and safety throughout the procedure. After surgery, there was no further worsening of weakness or damage to other vital structures and stabilised with screws and rods. The patient will be discharged on Monday.