A TRUE STORY. 

It happened in Sept. 1979. 

Complete recovery of Post Traumatic Recurrent Quadriplegia (twice) in a boy of 16 yrs. 

A rare incident in the history of medical science. 

KK was a 16 yr. old, poor boy from a village in UP. He was riding a cycle and was knocked down by a truck from behind. He sustained fracture of cervical spine and developed quadriplegia with complete loss of bladder and bowel functions. X-ray Cervical Spine showed fracture of the Odontoid process with displacement. CT SCAN, MRI, ULTRASOUND etc., were not invented so far. He was referred to me by a neurosurgeon - Dr Kansal in St. Stephen’s Hospital. Till then, it was a hospital for women, providing only Obstetrics and Gynaecology services. I was the first Orthopedic Surgeon to join this hospital and was assigned the task of developing the ortho. dept. There were no facilities even for applying cervical traction in bed in the hospital back then. I applied cervical traction to KK with a loop of 6" cotton bandage. Weights were applied with a bucket of water. Traction weight (7 - 8 kg) was controlled with a quantity of water in the bucket. Fortunately, KK responded. He regained his bladder and bowel functions in about 2-3 weeks and gradually was able to move all his limbs in supine position in bed. After 3 wks. of continuous cervical traction in bed, I took him to the operation theater for cervico- occipital fusion.  Problems in OT were –No trained staff for orthopedic surgery. No Instruments for ortho. surgery, what to mention of cervico-occipital surgery. With all the shortcomings in OT, myself and Dr Kansal did cervico occipital fusion. Took the bone graft from posterior iliac crest, placed it in situ, and fixed it with the help of malleable wire, closed the wound and shifted the patient to his bed in the ward. There was no concept of 'ICU', or 'Postoperative Recovery Room' at that time. When I came out of the OT, Dr. Rajan Mathews, the famous Urologist who was waiting for the OT, told me "NC, you don't need instruments, you need only patients to operate". KK made an uneventful post operative recovery. He continued in cervical traction for another 2-3 wks. He was put in the pop cast - MINERVA JACKET. The photographic image shown, has been repaired. 


He was able to walk in the wards without support. After a week of the plaster jacket application, he was discharged from the hospital on 06.11.1979. Two months later, he came to the hospital for follow-up. Plaster cast was removed. He had no neurological deficit. X-ray Cervical Spine AP & Lateral View were done. A disaster was noted. Upper part of the graft got fused with occiput. Lower part of the graft got fused with the cervical vertebrae. There was a visible gap in the two segments of the graft. The operation was a failure. Second surgery was suggested. KK said, "Sir, I can't even afford free treatment. I have so many social responsibilities. I have a sister, two brothers and a widowed mother to look after. I have to go back home". I told him to come back, if symptoms reappear. KK left for home. Nearly 6 months passed in the usual peaceful manner. Then I received a letter from him stating that symptoms have started to appear again. I replied to him by returning a post, asking him to come back again. He was back in the hospital, even before he received my letter. Second surgery was undertaken. Regrafting was done. A Minerva Pop Jacket was applied again. POP cast (Minerva Jacket) was removed after 3 months of surgery. X-rays cervical spine done. Cervico occipital fusion was perfect. Operation was successful. No neurological deficit recorded. 

HAIL, NC 

BRAVO, DR NC GUPTA 

WELL DONE, NC 

YOU ARE GREAT, NC

KEEP IT UP, NC 

GOD BLESS YOU, NC & so on. 

Such were the comments all around. I felt flattered. I felt blessed. It humbled me!  

Kindly continue reading. Something better & astonishing done by KK. KK was a poor village boy from UP, hardly matriculate in education, had no financial support, had immense social responsibility of educating and bringing up his three other siblings and widowed mother. He was passing through a very rough and tough time, perhaps dictated by some divine force. As if this was not enough! He suffered from Traumatic Quadriplegia caused by a truck accident on the road - another installment of divine punishment. Bravo, he fought back boldly and recovered completely, but, as if, even that was not enough. He underwent another round of quadriplegia caused by surgical failure, he fought back and recovered again. KK never lost his nerves, courage and determination to fight. He underwent continuous cervical traction in bed for 3 weeks, followed by another surgery for cervico occipital fusion and plaster jacket. The MINERVA JACKET was removed 3 months after the 2nd surgery. He took a job in my nursing home as 'General Duty Assistant' on a salary at par with other employees. He was an honest and hard working boy, ever ready to learn. Exactly after a year KK expressed his desire to go back home. I relieved him from his duties. For years, there was no communication between me & KK. Then greetings started trickling in by post (Internet, Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter etc. were non-existent in that era). KK, in spite of passing through his hard times, continued his education and learning. He got a job in a Syndicate Bank in Uttar Pradesh (UP). He must have continued his education and hard work with honesty, dedication and determination. He continued getting promotions in his bank job. He got married. He had invited me, but I could not attend the function. Today, KK is Chief Manager in Syndicate Bank in UP supervising over 100 branches. Today he has a happy, prosperous and progressive family. One of his sons is a doctor (MD Medicine) and the other, an engineer. KK has risen from poverty to prosperity by virtue of his hard work, dedication, determination and willingness to learn. This story is a testament to the power of perseverance and the importance of education in transforming lives. I salute him! 

HAIL, KK 

BRAVO, KK 

WELL DONE, KK 

YOU ARE GREAT, KK 

KEEP IT UP, KK 

GOD BLESS YOU, KK 

DR NC GUPTA 

(The surgeon who operated on KK) 

Appendix. 

Photocopies of available documents 

Age: 16 yrs. 

1st Admission: 29/09/1979 

  DOD - 6/11/1979 

2nd Admission: 10/06/1980 

  DOD - 28/08/1980