Thousands of miles to rescue! Chinese compatriots were seriously injured in a car accident, and they gave emergency treatment to help them overcome the difficulties

Poor sterile conditions, inadequately equipped surgical team, lack of surgical instruments and monitoring equipment... In reality, any of the above situations is enough to affect the successful completion of an operation.

However, recently, medical staff from the Madagascar Traditional Chinese Medicine Center of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine successfully performed surgery on a Chinese compatriot who was seriously injured in a car accident in such a simple operating environment, saving him from danger.

A Chinese compatriot was seriously injured in a car accident, and the Chinese Medicine Center provided support from thousands of miles away

In the early morning of October 12, 2024, Madagascar time, Associate Professor Ruan Hongliang, Business Director of the Madagascar Traditional Chinese Medicine Center of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, received an emergency call for help. An employee of China Railway 18th Bureau in Fodofan in the southeast corner of the Falkland Islands was injured in a car accident. The patient had multiple fractures, joint dislocations and nerve damage. The patient was in great pain and was in critical condition and urgently needed an orthopedic doctor.

Thus, an emergency rescue operation began.

As the local hospital lacked surgical plates and screws, after receiving the call, Ruan Hongliang led the attending physician Zhu Shuxian and associate professor Mu Chunhong from the medical aid team to Madagascar to select surgical plates and screws in the capital Antananarivo, and flew to Foz do Panama by plane at 6:20 pm.

After arriving at the local hospital that night, Ruan Hongliang and his two companions found that the situation was much more difficult than they had imagined. The hospital only had one shabby operating room, no orthopedic surgeons or orthopedic equipment, and a foul odor could be smelled as soon as one entered the ward. The patient's condition was also very bad, with fractures of the left femoral shaft and the middle section of the left clavicle, combined with a dislocation of the left hip joint. He had been in severe pain since the injury and urgently needed surgery.

Obviously, the local hospital's surgical conditions were extremely poor, but if the patient was transferred to the capital, it would take three days and three nights to drive, and the patient's fracture could not be fixed, which might cause the condition to worsen. Trying to create surgical conditions in the local hospital became the only option.

The situation was serious and urgent, and Ruan Hongliang quickly made arrangements: complete blood tests to determine the patient's blood loss; go to the operating room tomorrow to search for orthopedic equipment, and communicate with the hospital's only surgeon about the operation; urgently notify employees of China Railway 18th Bureau to check blood type in preparation for blood transfusion during surgery; and guide and calm the patient's emotions.

Stayed up all night to discuss treatment options with domestic experts

On the night he arrived at Fodofan, Ruan Hongliang stayed up all night. The patient was seriously ill and the medical conditions were poor. How should he create favorable conditions for surgery? At four in the morning, he was still discussing the specific surgery plan and precautions with Professor Zeng Saihua and Professor Zhou Zhaohui, trauma orthopedic experts from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine.

On October 13, Madagascar time, Ruan Hongliang led Dr. Zhu Shuxian to check the operating room. At the same time, he communicated with the country's doctors in detail about the patient's condition and determined the blood use for the operation.

The surgical conditions are still very difficult. Without surgical tools such as reduction forceps and taps, the operation may take a long time, cause heavy bleeding, and even endanger life. In addition, the patient's hip dislocation is accompanied by obvious nerve damage, but the fracture needs to be fixed first before the hip joint can be reduced. The operation is extremely difficult and risky.

After comprehensive consideration, Ruan Hongliang reported the situation to Liu Chunhua, the director of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine. After understanding the situation, Liu Chunhua gave instructions: learn from domestic trauma experts, determine the best and safest surgical plan, and do their best to treat the patient.

With the efforts and support from many parties, Ruan Hongliang finally finalized the surgical plan: open reduction and plate and screw internal fixation of the left femoral shaft fracture under continuous epidural anesthesia, manual reduction of the left posterior hip dislocation, and manual reduction of the left mid-clavicular fracture with an "8" bandage.

After 4 hours, the operation was successfully completed despite all difficulties.

The operation officially began at 8 a.m. on October 14, Madagascar time. Although sufficient preparations had been made, the operation was still very difficult.

The sterile conditions of the operation were too poor. The Madagascar medical staff had no concept of sterility at all, and the surgical instruments were not wrapped in sterile cloth. Language communication was also very difficult. The doctor used French and Malagasy, and the team was also determined temporarily, resulting in a low level of cooperation in the operation, which increased the difficulty of the operation.

There were no monitoring devices at the operation site, so Ruan Hongliang could only observe and judge based on clinical experience. The shortage of surgical instruments further exacerbated the situation. The electric drill stopped working at the beginning of the operation, and the only drill was broken. There were only small taps, and most of the surgical instruments needed were not available. There was only one steel plate, and no shaping tools...

The entire surgical team complained about the poor operating conditions from the beginning, and lost their tempers in the end, with sweat wet and dry, dry and wet. Ruan Hongliang calmed down and told himself that although there were many difficulties, he must find a way to complete the operation.

Finally, after about 4 hours and 400ml of whole blood transfusion, the operation was successfully completed. After the internal fixation of the femoral shaft fracture, Ruan Hongliang led the team to perform hip reduction for the patient and personally made an "8" bandage to fix the left clavicle after chest expansion and reduction.

All operations were successfully completed and the patient successfully overcame the difficulties. Ruan Hongliang finally breathed a sigh of relief. The director of the anesthesiology department and medical staff in Madagascar couldn't help but give him a thumbs up. That afternoon, Dr. Zhu Shuxian also used acupuncture to help the patient restore the damaged nerve function of his left lower limb.

After the operation, the patient recovered well. After explaining the precautions in detail to the Madagascar doctor, Ruan Hongliang and Zhu Shuxian returned home with peace of mind. After returning, Ruan Hongliang still did not forget to follow up on the patient's condition every day.

At this point, this thousand-mile emergency rescue came to a successful conclusion. Recalling this experience, Ruan Hongliang is still filled with emotion. "Such an operation may be very common in China, but it is unimaginable that it can be successfully carried out in non-capital areas of Madagascar where medical conditions are so backward. Although I endured huge psychological pressure, fortunately the outcome was perfect."

This treatment demonstrated the orthopedic treatment level of the Madagascar Traditional Chinese Medicine Center of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, showed the spirit of mutual help and love among Chinese people in Madagascar, and fully demonstrated the medical staff's benevolence in saving lives and healing the wounded.

Ruan Hongliang said that the Traditional Chinese Medicine Center will continue to work hand in hand and go all out to complete the task and let the seeds of Hunan Traditional Chinese Medicine take root in Africa.

Hunan Medical Chat Special Author: Ruan Hongliang, Zhu Shuxian, Liu Dan, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine

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(Edited by YT)