Miraculous escape: Docs save man after major artery cut in knife attack

Raipur: Doctors at state-run Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Medical College and Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Memorial Hospital, Raipur, have successfully performed a complex surgery to save the arm of a 34-year-old man. The patient's subclavian artery was completely severed during a knife attack, an injury that usually leads to amputation or death due to massive blood loss.A medical team led by Dr Krishnakant Sahu, Head of the Department of Heart, Chest and Vascular Surgery, repaired the damaged vessel during a four-hour operation. The procedure involved cutting the clavicle (collar bone) to reach the artery and using an artificial graft to restore blood circulation.The patient, a resident of Amleshwar employed at an electric vehicle firm, was traveling with his family on a motorcycle toward Raipur railway station. Following a collision with an electric rickshaw, the rickshaw driver attacked him with a sharp knife on the left shoulder.Bystanders rushed the unconscious patient to the Ambedkar Hospital emergency department, where staff used cotton gauze packing to temporarily control the bleeding.While the packing stopped the haemorrhage, it also halted blood flow to the left arm. The limb began to turn black, indicating the onset of gangrene. The subclavian artery is difficult to access as it lies deep within the chest. To reach the site of the injury, orthopedic surgeons assisted the vascular team in cutting the clavicle bone.The surgeons found a 3-cm section of the artery destroyed. They replaced this segment with a 7x30 mm Dacron artificial vascular graft. During the marathon surgery, the patient received five units of blood. The team also ensured the safety of the brachial plexus nerve bundle to prevent permanent paralysis. Once the vascular repair was complete, the orthopedic team re-fixed the clavicle using a metal plate.The patient has made a full recovery and returned to his daily work. Dr Vivek Choudhary, Dean of Pt. JNM Medical College, stated that the success of the procedure reflected the coordination between the surgical and trauma units.Medical Superintendent Dr Santosh Sonker noted that repairing a major artery like the subclavian is a high-risk task.