SRINAGAR: Doctors at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Narayana Superspeciality Hospital (SMVDNSH), Kakryal, have successfully treated a young man who suffered critical brain, facial and eye injuries in a motorcycle accident through a complex seven-hour emergency surgery.
According to media reports, the patient was brought to the hospital’s Emergency Department in an unresponsive condition with multiple life-threatening injuries. He reportedly made a remarkable recovery following surgery and was discharged within a week with normal vision, full eye movements and no neurological deficit.
Detailed investigations revealed a depressed skull fracture, extensive brain injuries, fractures involving the anterior cranial fossa, the front portion of the skull base, and multiple tears in the protective covering of the brain.
The accident had also caused severe damage to the orbital roof, the bone forming the upper portion of the eye socket. Several fractured bone fragments had been displaced into the cranial cavity, pushing the eyeball upwards and significantly affecting the patient’s vision and eye movements. He had also sustained a fracture of the lower jaw.
Given the critical nature of the injuries, the patient was stabilised and immediately taken up for emergency surgery by a multidisciplinary team led by Dr Khushwant Singh Kanwal, Consultant Neurosurgeon at SMVDNSH.
During the seven-hour procedure, the surgical team encountered extensive damage to the brain and surrounding bone structures, reportedly more severe than initially indicated by imaging investigations.
The surgeons carefully elevated the depressed skull fracture, addressed damaged brain tissue and contusions, and meticulously repaired the injured anterior cranial fossa.
Following completion of the neurosurgical and orbital reconstruction, Dr Arjun Malhotra, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon at the hospital, performed Open Reduction and Internal Fixation (ORIF) to stabilise and repair the fractured mandible.
Commenting on the case, Dr Kanwal said that despite extensive brain injuries and significant displacement of the eye, timely surgical intervention and meticulous reconstruction had helped restore the patient’s neurological function, vision and facial anatomy.
Dr Yash Pal Sharma, Facility Director of SMVDNSH, said the case demonstrated the importance of coordinated multidisciplinary care and the hospital’s advanced trauma management capabilities.
The successful outcome involved coordinated intervention across neurosurgery and oral and maxillofacial surgery, addressing injuries that affected the brain, skull base, eye socket and lower jaw.
