Apollo Hospitals, Chennai has given a new lease of life to a four-year-old girl by performing a life-saving brain decompressive craniectomy procedure when intensive Neuroprotective Care alone was insufficient.

The girl, was brought to the hospital in a very critical condition with severe brain injury and other minor fractures and injuries in her body, after a inebriated man fell on her from the second floor of an apartment building. She was transported to Apollo Children Hospital on January 29, in an extremely critical condition. The high-impact concussion resulted in the child’s brain becoming rapidly swollen and, despite instituting the highest levels of neuro-protective care in the pediatric ICU, the brain swelling progressed (malignant cerebral edema).

The restrictive effect of the surrounding bony skull against the swollen brain resulted in a dangerously high brain pressure, known as elevated Intra-Cranial Pressure (ICP). The ICP was normally less than 15mmHg, whereas Dhanyashri’s Intracranial Pressure (Brain pressure) rose to 30 to 35mmHg despite institution of all medical measures. Dr. Suchitra Ranjit, Senior Consultant PICU, told reporters on Monday that uncontrolled high ICP levels could result in the brain “herniating”/ squeezing right out of the skull, thus damaging many vital centres which sustain life, such as centres that control breathing and circulation.