Gujarat woman recovers from burns and COVID: Civic hospital

In a rare such instance, a 23-year-old woman COVID-19 patient with 71 per cent burns has fully recovered, after enduring a painful struggle of two months during which she underwent a couple of surgeries and multiple blood transfusions, according to a civic hospital.

The woman was discharged on Tuesday.

The Ahmedabad-based SVP Hospital which treated the woman claimed that it was first such case in the world to recover from extensive burn injuries and the coronavirus infection, both life-threatening conditions.

"As per our knowledge, this is the first-of-its-kind patient in the world who has successfully fought two problems simultaneously - Covid and Burns. We could not find any such case in literature online," the hospital said in a statement.

The woman, mother of a toddler, suffered severe burns while cooking at her home on May 9.

She was admitted to SVP hospital, a designated hospital for coronavirus care, on May 11 after she tested positive for coronavirus, it said.

"She underwent two surgeries, 35 dressing changes, 14 blood transfusions and 40 albumin transfusions. She was discharged today (Tuesday) after a full recovery," it said.

The woman was treated simultaneously by the department of plastic surgery and the department of medicine.

Her chances of survival had been very slim given her condition and viral infection, as the survival rate of patients with 71 per cent burns of her age is 18 per cent, it said.

"However, doctors of the medicine unit managed her infection effectively and she became COVID-19 negative after three weeks of treatment," the hospital said.

However, the journey towards recovery was not easy.

"The woman underwent two surgeries for burn injuries.

Her relatives procured donated human skin from Belgaum in Karnataka," it said.

The hospital said it was a challenge to treat her medically given her condition.

The hospitals had to ensure that doctors and other medical personnel do not catch infection during her treatment.

Image Credits: PTI