In a remarkable display of medical expertise and teamwork, a 1.5-year-old girl, who had stopped breathing while in mid-air, was saved by a group of five doctors on a Vistara flight from Bengaluru to Delhi. The doctors, who were returning from a medical conference, responded to a distress call mid-air and successfully resuscitated the child using improvised techniques and limited resources. After 45 minutes of concerted efforts, the child’s pulse returned, and the plane made an emergency landing in Nagpur to hand her over to a waiting pediatrician.

The incident unfolded 30 minutes after the flight’s takeoff from Bengaluru when the crew issued a medical distress call mid-air. Four senior residents from AIIMS and one doctor from the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, who were on their way back from a medical conference, stepped in to help. The child was found to be cyanotic, characterized by a bluish tint of the skin and mucous membranes due to inadequate oxygen in the blood.

Using techniques like head tilt, jaw thrust, and chin lift, the doctors maintained the child’s airway. They administered positive pressure ventilation using an improvised setup of an adult-sized face mask attached to an ambu bag and a pediatric oropharyngeal airway. Chest compressions were performed according to the pediatric life support protocol. Due to the lack of dedicated medical equipment, the doctors ingeniously repurposed an on-board emergency oxygen mask’s tubing to connect the ambu bag to an oxygen cylinder.

Despite challenging circumstances and limited resources, the doctors succeeded in securing an intravenous line on their first attempt. Emergency drugs, primarily adrenaline, were administered based on the child’s weight. The medical team even utilized an automated external defibrillator on the flight to deliver cardiac shocks while maintaining continuous CPR. After 45 minutes, the child’s pulse returned, indicating a restoration of spontaneous circulation.

Lacking an ECG monitor and oxygen saturation probe, the flight’s pilot was informed to land at the closest airport, Nagpur, which was just 20 minutes away. The plane made an emergency landing around 10:30 pm, allowing the stabilized child to be handed over to a waiting pediatrician.

The incident occurred on Vistara flight UK-814, which left Bengaluru at 9 pm and was scheduled to arrive in Delhi at 11:45 pm. The doctors involved in this life-saving intervention were from various specialties, including anesthesia, obstetrics and gynecology, cardiac radiology, and endovascular interventions.

This incident serves as a testament to the skill, resourcefulness, and dedication of these doctors who successfully saved a young child’s life in a challenging situation with limited resources.