Cuttack: The nine-year-old girl from Balijhor village under Raighar block of Nabarangpur district, who was admitted to the SCB Medical College and Hospital after being bitten by a cobra in June this year, has recovered and will be discharged tomorrow.
Talking to mediapersons on Tuesday, head of the Department of Plastic Surgery of the SCB Dr Bibhuti Nayak said “the girl, Manjula will take time to recover fully, however her right upper limb is now working properly. As she has recovered, she will be discharged from the hospital tomorrow.”
Manjula was admitted to the hospital on July 14 in a critical condition. “After admitting the girl, we found that the right upper limb where the snake had bitten was also in a critical. We had two challenges: whether to save her life or her right hand. After restoring her blood and albumin in two days, we conducted the emergency operation on the affected limb on July 17. Although we had to amputate her middle finger as the tissues were completely damaged due to gangrene, we were able to save the upper limb,” Nayak said.
He said the girl underwent a second surgery after three weeks after which her condition began to improve.
The incident had taken place in the second week of June when a snake bit her while she was playing in the courtyard of her house. The family members kept the girl in the house instead of admitting her to the hospital.
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The family members later brought the snake home with a belief that by keeping the reptile in confinement without feeding would cure the girl.
However, after district collector Ajit Kumar Mishra and CDMO learnt about the girl’s condition, she was admitted to Raighar CHC from there she was shifted to Umerkote CHC and then to the district headquarters hospital. However, the doctors there referred her to the SCB after examining her right upper limb.
The district collector, who provided financial assistance of Rs 10,000 from the District Red Cross Society for her treatment, had told the media that arrangements have been made for free treatment of the minor girl and if necessary, more financial assistance will be provided from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF).
Also Read: SCB Doctors Focus On Saving Damaged Hand Of Snake-Bitten Girl Of Odisha’s Nabarangpur
