BHUBANESWAR : In an extraordinary medical feat, doctors at AIIMS-Bhubaneswar virtually brought a ‘dead’ man back to life after his heart stopped beating for nearly two hours.
The patient Subhakant Sahu, an army jawan, had suffered a cardiac arrest due to which his heart stopped beating. He was revived with the help of advanced extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (eCPR), marking the first such case in Odisha.
Subhakant, a resident of Odapala village in Nayagarh district, was initially rushed to Ranpur hospital after he complained of heart-related complications on September 30. He was shifted to AIIMS the next day when his condition worsened.
Intensivist and ECMO specialist Dr Srikant Behera said shortly after arrival, the patient suffered a cardiac arrest and despite 40 minutes of conventional CPR, there was no cardiac activity. “At this point, patients are usually declared dead. But we decided to employ eCPR. This is a state-of-the-art procedure that involves using a machine to temporarily take over the functions of the heart and lungs,” he said.
A multidisciplinary team of doctors initiated extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and eCPR, following which the patient’s heart finally resumed beating, albeit with an irregular rhythm. His heart function, however, improved significantly in next 30 hours, and the patient was successfully weaned off ECMO after 96 hours.
“The eCPR gave us the ability to maintain blood circulation and oxygen delivery to vital organs while we worked on reviving his heart. He was in the ICU for more than a month as his other organs like lungs, liver and kidney were also affected. The team successfully addressed these life-threatening complications,” said Dr Behera.
Associate professor and ECMO specialist Dr Krishna Mohan Gulla said eCPR is an emerging procedure used in cases of severe cardiac arrest when traditional methods fail. Though technically challenging, it has displayed amazing results in the treatment of some cardiac arrests, which are traditionally deemed fatal, he said.
Family members and relatives of the patient were all praises for the doctors. “It is nothing short of a miracle. We owe everything to the doctors. They did not let us know what had actually happened and kept on saying to keep faith on the God and pray. The doctors are the God for us. They saved my son’s life,” said his mother Minati Sahoo.
Milestone for AIIMS: Biswas
The jawan is now stable and undergoing post-operative care. He is out of the intensive care unit. Doctors are optimistic about his recovery, though they cautioned regular monitoring. He will be discharged soon.
AIIMS executive director Dr Ashutosh Biswas said this is a milestone for the institute. “It is one of the rarest cases in the country where the patient’s heart has been revived almost 120 minutes after it stopped beating. Advanced medical interventions like eCPR can be a game-changer in saving lives during such critical situations,” he added.