Army doctors achieve new feat, successfully remove soldier's appendix at 16,000 feet

Amid the deployment of Indian troops in harsh winters to counter China on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Army doctors achieved a major feat at an altitude of 16,000 feet as they successfully removed an appendix of a soldier in a dug-in at a forward surgical centre in Eastern Ladakh. The surgery was performed by a team of three doctors including a Lt Colonel, a Major and a Captain on a soldier, who could not be evacuated by chopper due to the weather conditions.

"The surgical team from the field hospital performed an emergency surgery to remove the appendix at freezing temperatures at a height of 16,000 feet in a dug-in at a Forward Surgical Centre (FSC) in extreme conditions," Army sources confirmed. Despite the adversities faced by the doctors in performing the surgery, the operation was successful and the patient is stable now, they informed.

The surgery was conducted on October 28. The sources said this is one of the few such successful surgeries conducted by the Army doctors in the forward areas as the Indian Army's field hospitals are fully functional and are performing specialised treatment for extreme winter-related issues faced by troops deployed in the icy conditions along the LAC.

Indian Army chief Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane has made several trips to the forward locations to ensure that the troops are provided with proper clothing and habitation for fighting the winters as they are already engaged in conflict with the Chinese. Indian Army has an edge over the enemy in the winter as Indian troops have been deployed in harsh winter conditions in the past too in Siachen and adjoining Kargil-Drass sector.