Chennai, Sept 1 (PTI) A 46-year old vice-captain of a cargo ship from Georgia battled all odds and is now able to walk again after his right leg, badly crushed in freak accident onboard the vessel, has been resurrected by doctors at a city hospital.

Malkhaz Surmanidze underwent a complicated emergency limb saving revascularisation procedure and then overcame a stormy post-operative period during which he suffered acute kidney injury and deadly infection among others, doctors who treated him said on Tuesday.

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"I understood that my condition was very critical... The doctors saved my leg, saved my life and my future as well. I have started walking now. After one year, I may be able to resume my normal job,"Surmanidze said. Surmanidze's leg was crushed after being caught in a chain of containers on June 23 onboard the ship off Chennai coast. He was immediately rushed to a hospital near the Chennai Port and later referred to the Apollo Hospitals. "His right leg was bulged and the foot was blue and there was no pulse below the knee joint. Malkhaz had advanced ischaemia," Apollo Hospitals Senior consultant vascular and endovascular surgery Dr Rajarajan Venkatesan, who led the team in treating the man, said.

Ischaemia is a serious condition in which some parts of the body, like heart or brain, don't get enough blood.

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He was brought to Apollo almost 8-10 hours after the injury, making the limb salvage a nearly impossible task as the golden hour in such injuries required medical and surgical intervention within the first 4-6 hours, he said.

"...immediate surgery was suggested to avoid risk of his limb from being removed and the emergency limb saving surgery was performed," Rajarajan told reporters via a video conferencing briefing here. The post-operative period was stormy andSurmanidze developed acute kidney injury, large wounds, deadly infection, reduced white blood cells, fever and infectious disease. "So, we put him on antibiotics and anti-fungal medicines. He had a high risk of amputation which may endanger his life," the doctor said. Georgia Ambassador to India Archil Dzuliashvili visited Surmanidze and congratulated the team of doctors and the Apollo Hospitals for their efforts in saving the life and limb of the vice-captain, especially during the challenging COVID- 19 crisis.

He saidSurmanidze could hope to join the work he loved soon.

The patient also underwent skin grafting procedure and was now walking independently and fit to join his job in a few weeks' time, the doctors said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)