Kalpa Media House | Shivamogga |
A 25-year-old woman, happily married and pregnant with her first child, was eagerly awaiting motherhood when her life took a sudden and frightening turn. Though her pregnancy had progressed normally, her blood pressure remained persistently high. In her seventh month, she suddenly lost her vision and her condition began to deteriorate rapidly. She was rushed from a government primary health centre in her village to multiple private hospitals before finally being referred to Sahyadri Narayana Multispeciality Hospital for advanced care.
The patient was brought to the emergency wing in a critical, life-threatening condition due to severe hypertension with impending eclampsia. She was immediately taken up for emergency evaluation, and senior gynaecologist Dr Raghavendra Bhat, known for handling high-risk pregnancies, was summoned. A series of urgent diagnostic tests were carried out.
Investigations revealed that the woman was suffering from severe pre-eclampsia with imminent eclampsia, along with suspected retinal detachment, which caused the sudden loss of vision. Following rapid laboratory assessment, the medical team led by Dr Bhat decided to perform an emergency Caesarean section. That night, she delivered a live preterm baby weighing just 1,000 grams.
Speaking about the case, Dr Bhat said that both the mother and baby had a stormy course in the ICU. The mother later developed encephalopathy, a condition affecting brain function, which was successfully managed by neurologist Dr Roopa. After four days in the ICU, the mother was shifted to the ward and was discharged three days later with a significant recovery in her vision.
The extremely premature baby was cared for in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) under the supervision of neonatologist Dr Shashidhar Hegde. Describing the challenges, Dr Shashidhar said the baby remained in intensive care for nearly 45 days, as most organs were underdeveloped. The newborn had an extremely low heart rate and severe breathing difficulties and was placed on a ventilator with continuous oxygen support. At one stage, the heart rate had to be stabilised using CPR, while blood pressure was maintained with medicines.
He further explained that the baby was found to have a hole in the heart, which was successfully closed with medication. Due to critically low blood levels, blood transfusion was also given. As the baby was extremely small, it suffered from apnoea of prematurity—a condition in which premature babies stop breathing due to an immature brainstem.
“The nursing staff did extraordinary work. They cared for the baby tirelessly, often without regard for their own food and rest. The baby was initially fed through a feeding tube, and later the mother was trained in breastfeeding. Because of this dedicated care, the baby was discharged after one-and-a-half months, weighing around 1.8 kg, in a stable and active condition,” Dr Shashidhar said.
Recalling the rarity of the case, Dr Bhat said that in his decade-long practice, this was the first time he had seen a pregnant woman lose vision completely due to pre-eclampsia.
“We read about such complications in textbooks, but rarely encounter them in real life. This was a seemingly hopeless situation that we were able to turn into a story of hope and recovery,” he said.
Facility Director Mr Varghese P. John lauded the efforts of Dr Raghavendra Bhat, Dr Shashidhar Hegde, Dr Roopa, and their respective teams for saving both the mother and child. He said that the hospital has been at the forefront of managing high-risk pregnancies and has successfully treated many such cases. He reiterated that Sahyadri Narayana Hospital will continue to deliver quality healthcare to the people of Malnad and central Karnataka.
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