Hyderabad doctors save 18-month-old suffering from severe pneumonia, perform ECMO in flight from Goa

Team of doctors from Hyderabad flew to Goa in air ambulance to rescue 18-month-old child battling severe pneumonia. Within 24 hrs, child was transported back to Hyderabad for medical treatment. ECMO support was provided during flight. First-of-its-kind medical feat in India, child now making progress & will be discharged soon.

In a first-of-its-kind medical feat, a team of doctors from Hyderabad flew to Goa in an air ambulance to rescue an 18-month-old child battling severe pneumonia. Within a span of 24 hours, they brought the child to Hyderabad, where the necessary medical treatment was administered.

The child was on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) support during the flight. This is the first time such a medical intervention has taken place in the country, the doctors claimed. The child was diagnosed with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), a complication that occurs in cases of severe pneumonia.

It all began on September 15, when senior consultant neonatologist at Rainbow Children’s Hospital Kapil B. Sahane received a distress call from Goa Medical College and Hospital at around 6 p.m. The child was suffering from pneumonia and had to be placed on the highest level of ventilator support, the doctor said.

“We realised that the child needs ECMO but the challenge was to go all the way to Goa and initiate the process. Within six hours of the first call, our team of four doctors flew in an air ambulance and were next to the child in Goa,” the doctor said.

ECMO is a life-saving procedure in which the patient’s blood is rerouted outside their body to a heart-lung machine. This machine removes carbon dioxide and infuses the blood with oxygen, which is then pumped back into the patient’s body.

Dr. Sahane said that the local hospital in Goa provided invaluable assistance in initiating ECMO support. The procedure was successfully initiated around 5.30 a.m., and the child’s oxygen saturation levels showed improvement. After stabilising him for the next six hours, the medical team managed to transport the child onboard the aircraft in the afternoon. However, due to the high altitude during the flight, he faced elevated blood pressure and reduced oxygen saturation levels. In response, the doctors administered a blood transfusion mid-air to ensure his well-being.

The team arrived in Hyderabad at around 5 p.m. on September 16, and from there the child was promptly transferred to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) of Rainbow Children’s Hospital. For the next 29 days, he remained on ECMO support, and his health showed significant progress.