Bhubaneswar: Two children with severe burn injuries were given a new lease of life thanks to a successful allograft conducted for the first time by AIIMS Bhubaneswar.
Allograft is a tissue that is transplanted from a donor of the same species as the recipient, but not genetically identical.
The two children – six-year-old Shravani Mallick of Kesura area here and seven-year-old Suryakant of Puri suffered severe burn injuries after they came in contact with live electric wires by chance in separate incidents in June.
They were operated upon twice in August and September after a gap of a month. They were later released, an official of the hospital said.
Shravani came in contact with a live electricity wire and severely burnt her hands while playing on the terrace of her building in June. She underwent long treatment at the Capital Hospital here and then at the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack but her doctors said that saving her would be difficult even after the amputation of both her hands.
Her family then took her to the Burns Centre at AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, where allograft was conducted and Shravani recovered.
Sharavani’s mother Runulata Mallick said, “The doctors in Cuttack told us that it was difficult to save her. She was treated at AIIMS and recovered.”
Suryakant had sustained burn injuries all over his body except his face and the doctors who treated him at the district headquarters hospital in Puri could not assure him complete recovery. He too was taken to AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, where he recovered after allograft.
“I had lost all hope for my son. I left his fate to Lord Jagannath. He is now doing well. The AIIMS doctors are like Gods,” said Pratima Swain, the mother of Suryakant.
“Burns are the most painful experience in life. The two kids were given all emotional support to boost their morale before the treatment,” said Harapriya Bal, the nursing in-charge, AIIMS Burns Centre, said on Wednesday.
In such medical situations, skin allograft is the only alternative for severe burn patients. But AIIMS has no skin bank and fortunately for the two children skin was brought from Mumbai for treatment of another patient at AIIMS, she said.
But the patient died and his family donated it to the Burns Centre. The skin was used for the two children, she said.
“We have the facility for autograft, but allograft was conducted for the first time. It was a great achievement. We saved the children’s lives,” said Ashutosh Biswas, the executive director of AIIMS Bhubaneswar.
Autografts use tissue from a person’s own body.
Associate professor of the hospital’s plastic surgery department, Ranjit Sahu said that the success would send the message to people that allograft can be done by donating skin.
PTI
