Port Blair, Mar 21: The Directorate of Health Services in association with the Clearance Diving Unit, Indian Navy saved the life of tourist suffering from decompression sickness. A lady named Smt Krishna Priya Bhat, aged 25 years from Bangalore had undergone SCUBA diving and sea walk at Havelock recently and later developed some untoward symptoms as giddiness, severe feeling of compression in the chest with pain and breathlessness and severe spasm of upper limb with general weakness. The symptom progressed gradually and she herself presented to the doctors at GB Pant Hospital on march 19, 2016.
She was administered some treatment but she failed to improve. At 7.30, Dr.Avijit Roy, Deputy Director (Health) took up the case and after thorough investigation, she was diagnosed with Decompression Sickness Type-I. Immediately, the CSO (Med) ANC was informed and the patient was evacuated to CDU for recompression therapy. Surg. Cdr. Dr Kamal Mishra, Diving Medical Specialist from Indian Navy examined the patient and patient was taken for recompression for 2 hrs and 40 minutes under his supervision. The patient completely recovered from the symptoms. The help extended by DUC saved the life of a patient. The general public have been hereby informed that any untoward symptoms developed after SCUBA diving may be reported to the medical authority at the earliest so that the necessary intervention can be made to prevent complications.
