Critical surgery for baby Falak, condition stable

New Delhi: Doctors today conducted another life saving surgery on two-year-old battered Falak who is in a critical but stable condition. [caption id=“attachment_218936” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Screengrab from CNN-IBN”]  [/caption] Baby Falak underwent a shunt surgery during which doctors at AIIMS connected her brain with the abdomen to help circulation of fluid in the whole body. Neurosurgeon Deepak Agarwal, who is treating her said, “Water that should be circulated in the whole body got collected in the brain, thus putting pressure on the head that could be fatal for her. “We could not conduct the surgery all these days as there was high level of infection in her brain. As soon as the culture samples of the brain started showing negative infection, we decided to go for it,” he said. During the three-hour-long surgery that started at 5.30 AM, doctors put a tube through the brain that went to the abdomen. This is the fifth surgery that Falak has undergone since her admission in the hospital on January 18. Dr Agarwal said the child still needs ventilatory support. Falak was brought to the hospital in a battered state with severe head injuries, broken arms, bite marks all over her body and cheeks branded with hot iron. Doctors said it would be difficult for Falak to lead a normal life. “The infection in her brain has overstayed. It must have affected parts of her brain and this might in turn deprive her of a normal life in the future,” he said. PTI