Military Hospital, Khadki – THE FINAL PIT STOP FOR THE CUTTING EDGE TREATMENT OF BATTLE CASUALITIES

 
Nk Ramavatar singh  a 33 yr old soldier of 41 Rashtritrya rifles sustained a gunshot wound to his neck on 13 Nov 2015. This incident ensued during the same operation in which Col Santosh Mahadik was martyred while fighting militants in the inhospitable terrain of Kupwara.

Subsequent to the injury, he was completely paralyzed below his neck and stayed bed ridden for nearly 08 months. Only due to combined efforts of the dedicated team of surgeons, paramedical staff and other supporting health care professionals at MH Kirkee, he, now can aspire to live the rest of his life with dignity and hopefully to occupy himself in a meaningful vocation.

Another such moving story is of  Sepoy Sandeep Singh of 06 Dogra  regiment who  sustained a gunshot wound to his lower back while fighting insurgents in Manipur on 04 June 2015. Initially though paralyzed below this waist and wheel chair dependent, he now walks with support and remains independent for performing his daily necessities. Even though his career in Army was woefully cut short, he remains sanguine for fashioning himself a fulfilling life in his native village in Himachal Pradesh. These above two examples show the commitment of the nation to a soldier and an honest attempt to honour his deed in battle.

To most of us, even a minor cut is a major inconvenience and has to be tackled with antisceptic, anti tetanus and may be a range of antibiotics. A soldier walks into the danger of being mortally wounded fully conscious, for a task assigned to him. Getting grievously wounded is constant risk that he must accept to carry out his duties. The incidents at Srinagar and Pathankot are recent testimony to this. While personal bravery is an underlying attitude of every soldier, it is immensely comforting for him to know that there is a team that would do any thing in the world to make sure he returns to his normal life to the limits possible while figuratively speaking, he is sticking his neck out. This is the noble task that MH Kirkee has been assigned. Surgeons in this hospital are fully conscious of this immense responsibility. 
 
The wounds, like the explosions and their effects are random. While explaining the task, the commandant of the hospital Brigadier  HS  Agarwal mentioned that each & every wound is unique and same is taken up as a herculean challenge. Doctors in this hoaspital are fully aware conscious that one misstep could ruin a life. So, there is a system of collective discussion on plans to follow for each operation as also during post operative care. Brigadier Agarwal further explains that in medicine, miracles do happen, but it helps  the miracle to happen if the doctors are competent and focussed only on recovery of the patient.
 
MH Kirkee is a 846 bed hospital and specialises on orthopedic and spinal injury cases. More than 6000 operations are performed every year. Cutting edge technologies like stem cell therapy, arthroscopic procedures  and ceramic techniques are being routinely undertaken in this hospital. MH Kirkee is an evolved version of an Indo Burma General Hospital established in 1940 to look after convalescing casualities of second world war. From a modest aim in the begining, it has grown into the largest facility for spinal injuries in entire South East Asia. 
 
Over the years, lot of supporting infrastructure has also come about and two such institutions are affilated to this hospital, namely Queen Mary’s Technical Institute and Paraplegic Rehabilitation Centre. It is to the credit of the hospital that some of the patients of this hospital, post recovery have distinguished themselves in service and sports.
 
The commandant pointed out that improvement in existing facilities is a constant battle. Recently a proposal for new accomadation which would greatly facilitate working of the hospital has been accepted. As a surgeon and as a commandant of an institution that abides by motto  ’Disablity to Ability’ he feels, he and his team of dedicated professionals are blessed with the unique priviledge of treating wounded comrades and  returning soldiers to where he belongs, ie, his unit. And it is well worth, the battle the every doctors of the Armed Forces fight in operation theatres and the long hours of effort being put.