Chopper helped avoid amputation of constable's arm

Prompt coordination between different agencies resulted in an Indian Air Force chopper flying an injured cop to Nagpur after he was injured in a Naxal encounter on Tuesday. After a six-hour-long artery reconstruction surgery by experts at Kunal Hospital, the bullet-hit right arm of constable Manikrao Khadse was saved.

A Naxal bullet in the jungles near Punnoor village in Etapalli tehsil had pierced the upper arm of Khadse on Tuesday morning. A profusely bleeding Khadse was rushed to Kasansur police station, three kilometres away from the encounter site, by a colleague carrying him on the back.

Senior cops had already urged Raipur control room to keep a chopper ready for medical emergency. Khadse was airlifted from the helipad behind the Kasansur police station and taken to the Nagpur hospital, where he was immediately taken to the operation theatre by a team of doctors under Dr Shishir Srivastava.

"In these cases, time is of essence. There was heavy blood loss leading to a fast decrease in pressure. There were no pulse at elbow and wrists either. The major artery was badly damaged. Loss of time could have led to loss of the limb or even life," said Dr Sushmeet Srivastava. "We have grafted an artery from his leg in the place of the damaged one to save the arm," she said.

Maharashtra is likely to have its own chopper service soon, with the government trying to work out the modalities, after years of just talking about the plan. Even the district police personnel of Gadchiroli have been demanding a chopper for sending reinforcement to ambush sites and for medical evacuation.