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Updated January 7th, 2023 at 11:03 IST

British-Indian doctor saves man's life aboard London-Bengaluru flight

"It took an hour of resuscitation before I was able to get him back. Luckily, they had an emergency kit, which included resuscitative medication," Vemala said.

Reported by: Zaini Majeed
British Indian
IMAGE: Twitter/@uhbtrust | Image:self
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A British-Indian doctor has earned laurels for saving the life of a fellow passenger, who nearly died twice during a 10-hour Air India flight. Vishwaraj Vemala, a consultant hepatologist at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, battled for five hours to save the life of a 43-year-old man who suffered a cardiac arrest on a flight from the UK to Bengaluru.

At the time the Indian-origin doctor was tending to the unconscious man, he did not have a pulse and was not breathing. 

Vemala quickly arranged enough oxygen for the man and used the automated external defibrillator. With the help of the other passengers onboard, he managed to assemble the heart-rate monitor, blood pressure machine, pulse oximeter, and glucose meter to ensure that the patient had some vital signs and that his life could be saved.

The said passenger suffered a cardiac arrest twice, and Vemala made efforts to resuscitate him and make sure his heart kept beating.

Vishwaraj Vemala graduated from Bangalore University in 1999, and completed post-graduate training in Bangalore in 2002 and later took specialist training in London (2006) at St George's University Hospital.  In 2009, he opted for research in the Dame Sheila Sherlock Liver Unit at the Royal Free, London (2009).

"It took about an hour of resuscitation before I was able to get him back. Luckily, they (the cabin crew) had an emergency kit, which included resuscitative medication to enable life support," Vemala said while sharing his experience, according to statement released by University Hospitals Birmingham.

"In total, he was without a good pulse or decent blood pressure for nearly two hours of the flight, alongside the cabin crew, we were trying to keep him alive for five hours in total," he added.

Pakistan denied permission for emergency landing

While Vemala struggled to save the life of his patient onboard with the resources he could manage midair, the pilot of the flight made contact with Pakistan, seeking permission to land at the nearest airfield. The request, however, was denied.

The plane then landed at the Mumbai airport, where an emergency crew was waiting on the ground, and immediately rushed the patient to the hospital.

Upon landing, the patient was resuscitated and was able to speak and gesture. The latter was delivered safe and stable with the emergency team at Mumbai Airport. "I don't think I have ever treated a cardiac arrest during my job... Obviously, during my medical training, it was something I had experience dealing with, but never 40,000 feet in the air!" Vemala said, according to Gulf News. 

Speaking about the entire incident, he added that in the span of his seven years career as a consultant, his mother saw him 'in action' for the first time. "She was crying a lot," he recalled.  "This was indeed a moment that I will remember for rest of my life," he added. 

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Published January 7th, 2023 at 07:30 IST

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