Nagpur: Doctors at AIIMS-Nagpur successfully restored the swallowing ability of a 23-year-old woman, who was unable to eat for nearly 2 years after ingesting a corrosive substance that severely damaged her food pipe and upper digestive tract. Her condition worsened to the point where she could not swallow even saliva and depended on tube gastrostomy and feeding jejunostomy for nutrition. By May 2025, her condition deteriorated alarmingly — her body weight dropped to 14kg, with a critically low BMI of 5.5. She was bedridden, unable to sit or walk, and showed extreme muscle wasting.She was subsequently admitted to AIIMS Nagpur, where she was shifted to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category to ensure free treatment. Over the next eight months, the patient underwent intensive preoperative optimisation and rehabilitation. She received structured nutritional therapy, physiotherapy and psychological counselling under the supervision of the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation and active support from general medicine and psychiatry departments. This sustained effort helped her regain mobility, allowing her to walk 4,000-6,000 steps a day, and raise her weight to 24kg prior to surgery.
Following deliberations in a multidisciplinary team meeting, doctors planned a definitive reconstructive procedure. On January 12, a 10-hour reconstructive surgery was successfully carried out. Surgeons reconstructed the damaged food pipe using a segment of the patient’s large intestine. A new passage was created beneath the sternum in the chest, and the intestinal segment was positioned to restore continuity of the digestive tract. The procedure involved four critical anastomoses in the neck and abdomen.The treatment, including the surgery, was provided free under Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana. Postoperative recovery was smooth, with close monitoring in the intensive care unit. On the fifth day after surgery, the patient resumed oral intake and was able to swallow food for the first time since 2024. She has since gained an additional 2kg and continues to recover steadily.Dr Prashant Joshi, executive director of AIIMS Nagpur, said the successful outcome reflected the institute’s commitment to delivering advanced, multidisciplinary care to complex cases, particularly for economically disadvantaged patients.
