The medical condition of the 23-year-old
woman who was raped by several men and thrown off a moving bus on Dec. 16 is
worse than previous reports had indicated, according to the Singapore hospital
where she is being treated.
Dr. Kevin Loh, chief executive of Mount
Elizabeth Hospital, said in a statement Friday:
“As at 28 Dec, 11am (Singapore time) the patient continues to remain
in an extremely critical condition. She is still receiving treatment at Mount
Elizabeth Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit.
“Our medical team’s investigations upon her arrival at the hospital
yesterday showed that in addition to her prior cardiac arrest, she also had
infection of her lungs and abdomen, as well as significant brain injury. The
patient is currently struggling against the odds, and fighting for her life.
“A multi-disciplinary team of specialists has been working tirelessly
to treat her since her arrival, and is doing everything possible to stabilize
her condition over the next few days.”
On Thursday afternoon, hours after the
patient arrived in Singapore from New Delhi, Dr. Loh described her condition as
“extremely critical,” and said she had had three abdominal surgeries and a
cardiac arrest before arrival.
In an interview Thursday evening, Dr.
Mahesh Chandra Misra, professor and head of the department of surgical
disciplines at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, who was part of the
team caring for the patient in New Delhi, described her initial injuries as the
worst he’d ever seen.
“As doctors, we’ve never witnessed anything like this,” he said.
The patient was “practically dead” when she
was brought in to Safdarjung Hospital on the morning of Dec. 17, and had to be
resuscitated, he said. Then, the doctor’s immediate focus was on damage
control, he said, and her small and large intestines were removed because they
were gangrenous.
“Her intestines were hanging out” when she arrived at the hospital,
Dr. Misra said, adding that her injuries indicated that an iron rod had been
used to attack her. The young woman was taken off a ventilator last Friday,
when was reported to have spoken to her family, but then put back on a
ventilator on Sunday.
She has had three surgeries so far, which
were extensive operations, Dr. Misra said, noting that her health was critical
when she was shifted to Singapore Wednesday night.
“Right now, her heart needs to be stabilized,” Dr. Misra said
Thursday night. The doctors’ task in Singapore is “bringing her back from this
condition,” he said.
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