Yemeni walks again thanks to city docs

Caught in a war-torn Yemen, Mohammed Saeed was shot and couldn’t find treatment in his country; he headed to Bengaluru

BENGALURU: Injured in a civil war in Yemen, Mohammed Saeed Ahmed was bound to a wheelchair and was told that he would never be able to walk.


The 42-year-old man is the principal of a high school in Yemen. He became the commander of the people in Yemen when the war broke out.  While helping the people of his town defend their land acquisitions, he was shot in his leg.   

Mohammed Saeed
Ahmed

He came to India with the hopes for treatment last year. He consulted doctors of two hospitals in other cities before visiting Sakra World Hospital in Bengaluru.

He underwent treatment, led by Dr Maheswarappa, BM, head of Physical Medicine, Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine along with Dr Derick Mendonca, head of plastic surgery.    


He underwent a tendon transfer surgery on September 9, which lasted for about two and a half hours. 
Dr Derick Mendonca says, “He would have got better results if he had come sooner. The recovery would have been faster.”


The tendon transfer surgery is usually performed in case of a nerve damage. “He was shot in his leg. The bullet had ripped through the nerves of his leg, leaving it immobilised.

During this surgery, we rearranged the tendons of his foot to restore the function of his leg. He then underwent rehabilitation and physiotherapy sessions for a month with Dr Maheswarappa. He is now able to walk and has gone back to his country,” adds Derick.  


Age is also a factor, he says, adding, “The recovery is slower when the patients are older. He is 42. So, we decided to go for tendon transfer surgery. If he would have come earlier, we could have tried considering the repair of the nerves by finding the two ends.”


The patient Mohammed Saeed Ahmed says, “I was told by many that my condition was permanent and that I shall never be able to stand on my own feet. But in this age and time, I knew that there would be a cure for my condition.

Dr Maheswarappa and Dr Derick at Sakra World Hospital showed me a ray of hope and now I am back on my feet. I cannot express my gratitude to them in words.”


Though a complicated surgery, the procedure is safe, says Dr Derick. “He just has to follow his physiotherapy exercises and a normal diet.”

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