Anushka, a 21-month-old girl hailing from Bhopal, underwent more than 70 bronchoscopies in a year, claimed the doctors at a city hospital. The hospital waived off `22 lakhs in hospital fees on the request of doctors working on the case.
The doctors attending the girl at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital assert that it is the first case in the world where the procedure was done so many times.
The girl was suffering from acute pneumonia when she was admitted an year ago after mistakenly ingesting 15 ml of baby oil when she was nine-months-old.
After more then 70 bronchoscopies in a year’s time, Anushka has recovered from illness and is healthy now.
The doctors said that accidentally, oil went into Anushka’s lungs and besides pneumonia, it also led to respiratory problems.
Pankaj Tewari, father of the girl, said, “I went to various hospitals. They said my daughter doesn’t have much time and referred me to the ICU of Ganga Ram Hospital.”
Explaining how serious Anushka’s condition was, Dr Anil Sachdeva said, “The body does not have a mechanisms to clear oil particles. Thus, it was unable to maintain oxygen. We had to do more than 70 bronchoscopies to clear the oil from the lungs.”
This is the first case in the world where these many bronchoscopies have been done, Dr Sachdeva said.
Though not fully recovered, Anushka is fit to lead a normal life now.