Woman with COVID-19 and other co-morbidities, undergoes challenging surgery in Chennai

Doctors at Fortis Malar hospital here have performed a challenging surgery for the fractured elbow of a 70-year-old woman who was COVID-19 positive and had other co-morbidities.

Nandkumar Sundaram, Chief of Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgeon at the hospital, said that the woman was rushed to the hospital with a fractured elbow, high fever and extreme breathlessness. Apart from COVID-19, she had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes and hypertension, he added. He said that she was treated in the intensive care unit for about three weeks before she was fit enough to undergo a multiple fragment surgery for the fracture.

Highlighting that the surgery was complex as the patient had osteoporosis that made her bones weak and also because of the location of the fracture, Dr. Sundaram said that the team, involving highly-experienced critical care doctors and anaesthetists, however, managed it successfully. “The patient has recovered well,” he said.

He said the case was yet another example of how the hospital has not shied away from treating patients for all their ailments even if they were COVID-19 positive by taking adequate precautions.