By OUR STAFF REPORTER
Rishikesh, 5 Jan: Pushkar Singh (24), a resident of Champawat District, was rescued from the collapsed tunnel of Silkyara (Uttarkashi). He was unaware that he also had a congenital hole in his heart.
After the rescue operation, it was detected during the medical health check-up in AIIMS, Rishikesh. The doctors decided to do open heart surgery and performed it successfully on 28 December, 2023. He has recovered smoothly after this major operation and has now been discharged.
Pushkar Singh from Champawat was among the 41 workers trapped in the Silkyara Tunnel accident in Uttarkashi, last year. On 29 November, when all the workers were rescued and taken to AIIMS Rishikesh, like the others, he was also thoroughly examined by the doctors. During the echocardiography test, Cardiologist Dr Barun Kumar detected that he has a hole in his heart. The patient was totally unaware of this problem.
Dr Anshuman Darbari, senior CTVS surgeon of AIIMS, Rishikesh, stated that, earlier at the time of discharge on 1 December, Pushkar was physically and mentally not fit enough for this major surgery. Therefore, he was called later for this surgery in a planned manner. Dr Darbari said that open heart surgery of Pushkar was done on 28 December and he recovered well.
Dr Anshuman Darbari stated that, if he had not reached AIIMS after this incident, he would not have detected this condition with later serious health consequences. The other team members included in this operation were Dr Ankit Aggarwal, Dr Avinash and Dr Pooja Ahuja.
Executive Director of AIIMS, Rishikesh, Prof Meenu Singh took personal interest in this case. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has been continuously taking updates on the health and wellbeing of this worker. She said that the entire treatment coverage was free under the Atal Ayushman health scheme of the state government. AIIMS Rishikesh is currently the only government health institution in Uttarakhand where heart and lung surgery with tertiary care health facilities are available under government welfare schemes.
