KIMS Doctors Pull Of An Impossible Surgery, Removes Knife From Patients Face 

HUBBALLI:  The doctors at the Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) hospital in Hubballi have performed a complicated surgery of four hours to remove a knife stuck in the face of a middle-aged man.

On April 18, the patient Bheemarao Chouhan, 48, of KK Halli in Haliyal taluk of Uttara Kannada district was stabbed by his neighbour in the face with a sharp knife. The knife remained struck in his face, in the maxilla area for over 20 days. At first he was treated  Haliyal taluk hospital and he was shifted to Dharwad district hospital where the doctors were not able to remove the knife completely. After which he referred to KIMS hospital in Hubballi and he got admitted on June 3.

The doctors of the department of oral and maxillofacial surgery did a CT scan of the face, CT angiogram of the facial structure and did all investigations of the patient as the knife was broken in the maxilla area of the face which could lead to severe complications.

Involving three more departments - anaesthesia, ENT and neurosurgery - the department of oral and maxillofacial performed the complicated surgery on June 15. 

Dr Manjunath Vijapur from the oral and maxillofacial department, KIMS explained that the broken knife would have affected the brain, spinal cord, and blood veins. "The surgery was life-threatening and challenging one. Hence four departments, of which two were kept on standby, were involved in the surgery. If any complications emerged, the standby departments experts were ready to help the surgical team," he said.

The department of anaesthesia experts Dr Sushma and Dr Rajashekhar did the fibre optic machine intubation for anaesthesia and later the surgery was done. Dr Majunath Vijapur, Dr Vasanth Kattimani, Dr Anuradha Naganagoudar and the team successfully removed the 6 cm broken knife from the face of the patient. Now the patient is doing well and is shifted back to the ward.