AIIMS Doctors' Swift Action Saves Infant's Life On Vistara Flight, Child Critical But Stabilized

A 14-month-old infant, rescued by a team of medical professionals from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) New Delhi while aboard a Vistara flight from Bengaluru to Delhi, is currently in a critical condition, reliant on a ventilator and various life-saving medications at a hospital in Nagpur, Maharashtra.

The five AIIMS Delhi doctors who were passengers on the Bengaluru-Delhi Vistara flight played a vital role in the situation. According to a statement from Aejaz Shami, the deputy general manager of Nagpur's KIMS-Kingsway Hospitals, on the late night of August 27, the infant passenger, a 14-month-old baby on Vistara Airlines Flight No. UK814 from Bangalore to Delhi, faced a medical crisis. Fellow passengers with medical backgrounds promptly administered CPR to the baby, demonstrating exceptional readiness and professionalism.

As the situation grew more critical, the airline collaborated efficiently with Nagpur airport authorities, resulting in an emergency landing in Nagpur. An ambulance from KIMS-Kingsway Hospitals facilitated the seamless transfer of the infant to KIMS KINGSWAY Hospital.

The statement also conveyed that the infant is currently under the care of a Senior Consultant in Paediatrics and Neonatology, in a critical unconscious state on a ventilator and supported by life-saving drugs. Regular counseling is being provided to the parents and relatives.

What Transpired on the Bengaluru-Delhi Vistara Flight?

1. On Sunday night, a group of five senior AIIMS doctors was en route to Delhi after attending a medical event in Bengaluru. They were on board Vistara flight UK-814.

2. The flight crew issued a distress call before diverting the aircraft to Nagpur. The distress call was in relation to a two-year-old girl with a cyanotic appearance, who had previously undergone intracardiac repair surgery and was unconscious and cyanosed.

3. The five doctors, including Navdeep Kaur (Senior Resident in anesthesia), Damandeep Singh (Senior Resident in cardiac radiology), Rishab Jain (formerly Senior Resident in AIIMS radiology), Oishika (Senior Resident in OBG), and Avichala Taxak (Senior Resident in cardiac radiology), promptly assessed the child. They noted her absence of pulse, cold extremities, and lack of breathing along with cyanosed lips and fingers.

4. Over the next 45 minutes, the doctors collaborated as a team, improvising medical equipment and techniques. They revived the child, managed two cardiac arrests, and ensured her breathing until the flight safely landed in Nagpur.

5. One of the doctors shared that the child had a pre-existing heart condition, making in-flight management with limited resources a substantial challenge.

6. He added that the girl and her parents were returning from Bengaluru after the child's heart surgery for a congenital cardiac condition. While the surgery had been successful 21 days earlier, complications post-surgery were not uncommon.

7. Even after the flight landed around 11:30 pm in Nagpur, the doctors continued to assist the child, monitoring her vitals in an ambulance until she could be transferred to a pediatrician from a nearby hospital.