Mumbai doctor resuscitates pulseless passenger, saves a life at airport

MUMBAI: A doctor from Thane resuscitated, gave first-aid and helped save the life of a passenger at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport here early on Monday. Anaesthesiologist Gayatri Patankar had arrived from Dubai and just cleared customs when she saw an obese man in his mid-50s slumped on a wheelchair with a crowd gathered around him, around 11.30 p.m. "The onlookers informed that he suddenly fell and lost consciousness, I checked and he was cyanosed, limp and pulseless," Patankar said. As the Mumbai International Airport Ltd. medical emergency team was summoned, she wasted no time and placed him on the floor and gave him a cardiac massage. A medical team arrived with an emergency kit and they continued CPR on the patient, giving shocks with a defibrillator. After the third shock, the patient started breathing and the airport medical team also reached by then at the spot. The patient, said to be from Mumbai, who arrived by an international flight, was administered certain injections and medicines. As he showed gradual signs of improvement, he was shifted to the Seven Hills Hospital at Marol, early Monday. Patankar said the hospital authorities informed her this evening that the patient was fine and recovering well. "It was the most fulfilling experience of my life as all the passengers around watched me. Later people clapped and saluted, one little girl even touched my feet. This is my greatest reward," Patankar said. A Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) official said another person who suffered a cardiac arrest had been similarly resuscitated at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport on January 19 by the airport medical team.