The life of a 32-year old man from Lucknow who was diagnosed with severe lung infection post recovery from COVID-19 has been saved. The patient was airlifted through a chartered flight with ECMO support during the entire transit process from Lucknow to Gleneagles Global Health City in Chennai.
This is the first time in India that a patient has been transported on ECMO, with battery backup for more than 9 hours for a distance covering more than 2110 kilometres by air, the hospital said.
The man was diagnosed with COVID-19 at his hometown in Lucknow and a few days later recovered successfully from the infection. A couple of weeks later, post recovery from COVID-19, he developed severe breathing complications. He was admitted to a hospital close to his residence and was put under emergency treatment with ventilator support. Despite High Ventilatory Oxygen support, his oxygen levels were extremely low with the accumulation of carbon dioxide at an alarming level in the blood. To get a clear understanding on his medical condition, doctors performed a few tests; his CT scan revealed that his lungs were damaged more than 75% and he reached a stage where Lung Transplant or ECMO support were the only options available for his survival.
Looking at the patient’s condition, doctors from Lucknow contacted health experts at Gleneagles Global Health City, Chennai, and briefed them about the severity of the patient’s condition. After a thorough analysis of the patient’s illness, doctors from Chennai and Lucknow decided to airlift the patient to Chennai on a chartered flight with continuous ECMO support. The family was briefed by the doctor on the patient’s condition and the urgent need to transport him to Chennai for advanced treatment.
On September 16, doctors from Gleneagles Global Health City took a commercial flight from Chennai to Lucknow and initiated ECMO for the patient at the Lucknow hospital. With the support of the ECMO machine, doctors stabilised the patient for a few hours. On the September 17, the patient was shifted to Chennai through chartered flight, in the presence of the medical experts who were monitoring his condition. The flight duration between Lucknow and Chennai was 5 hours and 30 minutes.
“Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is reserved for those who are critically ill and in these current times with the emergence of COVID‐19, we are seeing more and more critically ill patients. ECMO machine plays a vital role in critical condition which helps in either as a bridge to recovery or bridge to Transplant. Currently, the patient is slowly recovering from lung infection with the support of ECMO and is being closely monitored by the health experts” said Dr Govini Balasubramani, Senior Consultant – ECMO, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Heart & Lung Transplantation, Gleneagles Global Health City.
Dr Alok Khullar, Chief Executive officer - Gleneagles Global Health City said “The team at Gleneagles Global Health City went on a war footing to obtain all necessary approvals and permits from the health officials of the respective states. They coordinated with airport authorities and transport department to ensure safe and seamless transfer of the patient to Chennai. Despite all the hurdles, we were able to shift the patient safely and provide him with the best possible treatment. I applaud the entire team of Gleneagles Global Health City including the doctors, nurses, technicians, operations team and the support staff for their well coordinated efforts in giving patient the best of care amidst the challenging situation.”