Months of treatment and 23 operations later, Mumbai man walks again on prosthetic legs

A 59-year-old man who suffered a life-threatening injury walked again thanks to prosthetic legs. He had to endure 23 operations and months of treatment until he was able to walk again.

A 59-year-old man who suffered a life-threatening train accident and had lost all hopes of walking by himself was discharged from a Mumbai hospital today. After several months of treatments and 23 operations later, he walked out with newly fitted prosthetic legs.

Mahesh Mathur (name changed) had a nasty fall from a local train on March 10, 2021, sustaining a severe injury to both his lower limbs. His right leg was severely damaged and had to be completely amputated. The left leg was partly amputated and was hanging with just a few skin tags. An attempt was made to salvage and reconstruct the lower left limb. But, it was not possible to save the limb and it had to be amputated.

READ | After 28 years, Mumbai cop acquitted in Rs 200 bribery case

Speaking to India Today, Dr Nilesh Satbhai, senior consultant in plastic, hand and reconstructive surgery said, "The patient is a finance professional and on the day of the unfortunate incident, he travelled in a crowded compartment of a local train. He was standing at the door when he fell and in case of a major fall, one tends to blackout, a train passed over both his legs, crushing them. Saving his life was more important than saving his limb. One of the legs was amputated on the spot, not even found at time of injury. Someone collected the missing leg and brought it to the hospital. And the other leg was just hanging by a piece of skin, with minimal blood circulation to the leg."

"There was too much blood loss and the patient suffered a shock. There was fear of contamination, dust or particles on the wheel of the train when he fell to the ground and also exposure to bacteria that could cause infection. He was taken to a local hospital, but it was a severe injury so they shifted him here," the doctor said.

A staged reconstruction was performed to cover the amputation stumps, a microvascular free tissue transfer was performed on the left side and skin grafting was performed on the right leg.

“We performed amputation in the lower limbs, where the rehabilitation takes a longer time. It is also a challenge for patients to balance their bodies, especially those on whom bilateral lower limb amputation is performed. They are bedridden for a longer time, muscles get weaker. The patient had other medical issues as well, leading to delay in recovery. Now he can take care of himself and is not dependent on anyone for his daily needs. Mathur can climb stairs or walk short distances,” added Dr Satbhai.