Hours after the attack on 20-year-old Madhavi and 23-year-old Sandeep in Hyderabad’s Erragadda by the girl’s father, Madhavi remains in a critical condition post-operatively, doctors addressing the media at Yashoda hospital said on Thursday morning.
Vascular surgeon Dr Devender Singh, Orthopedic Surgeon Dr Sunil Dachepalli, and Plastic Cosmetic Surgeon Dr Babu J Navula, part of the team who tended to Madhavi, told the media that Madhavi is on ventilator.
“The girl was bleeding profusely and in a state of shock when she was brought in. Her blood pressure was very low around 60 to 70. She’s sustained several deep cuts to her neck. Several nerves supplying the head and neck region were also cut. She was bleeding a lot and we didn’t have much time. We did a simple CT scan and then took her up for an emergency surgery with a team of several doctors. As she was bleeding profusely, we had to control it as our first priority. Once that was achieved, we were able to attempt to focus on the other issues. Her hand was nearly completely amputated when she was brought it. We fixed the bone and repaired the nerve and artery, which were cut. We are hopeful that we will save her and that she will be able to use her hands for normal duties. 5 units of blood have been given, and her haemoglobin seems to be improving slowly. However, she is still critical and remains on ventilator,” stated one of the doctors.
The medical team further added that she had sustained a gash on her face which ran quite deep and that a few nerves, including the facial nerve, had been cut. The facial nerve is involved in a number of functions, including blinking and smiling. While doctors are confident that the nerve would heal, they remain unsure as to whether its functionality would return to full capacity.
“She’s on ventilator, only once we take her off ventilator support will we be able to thoroughly assess her condition. We are hopeful. She’s showing good improvement. There has been no further decline in haemoglobin. Her blood pressure is stable, and there is no evidence of any further bleeding at present in the neck or brain. Only in the next 48 hours will we be able to say anything for sure,” Dr Devender said.
Madhavi is currently in the ICU, and doctors said she will have to be under observation for another 2 to 3 days.
“Stage wise, she’s in recovery. Her situation remains critical, we will have to monitor and see. Her brain and spine have not been affected and she is responding to our comments, but is not yet fully conscious,” said another doctor.
Nerve injuries can be particularly tough, and it has yet to be determined how much recovery can be expected on that front. An estimated time of at least 4-6 weeks was given by doctors for any nerve recovery to take place. They further added that it would take time for proper nerve connections to be re-established, assuming that they healed.
Madhavi married Sandeep at an Arya Samaj temple in Alwal on September 14, though her family was opposed to the same on the grounds of caste and class. Her father, Manoharachari called up his daughter on Wednesday under the pretext of buying them clothes for the wedding reception, and asked her to meet him near Gokul Theatre in Hyderabad. When the couple reached, he took out a sickle and attacked Sandeep, who sustained a deep gash to his cheek, while Madhavi was hacked multiple times and sustained severe injuries.
Bystanders rushed the couple to Neelima Hospital, where Sandeep was stabilised. Madhavi was taken to Yashoda Hospital for further treatment, where she’s currently being monitored by a team of four doctors.