Kiss of life

                                                                Based on a true story.                  

On a Tuesday morning in the month of August 2018, I was going through the days list (of surgery) and assigning operation theater and  theater personnel for each case.  On hearing knocks on the door and a  voice of a young girl's "May I come in Sir ?"I responded  expectantly.  A young girl in her teens along with a woman in her forties entered the room, the girl bowed before me and touched my feet.  Big surprise!!

When I was about to enquire the details, the girl interrupted me and said, “Doctor uncle, Do you remember a Caesarian way back in 2002 and a baby almost dead, taken out of one woman’s uterus.That great woman was she, my mother and that baby was me.

The Pediatrician and  yourself tried for 30- 35 minutes to bring me back to life, but in vain.  All of a sudden you wiped my mouth of secretions, took out the tubes etc, took a gauze piece, spread, over my mouth and nose and with a full force blew into my mouth.

                                              Mouth to mouth respiration         

And that was all. I started crying, crying and crying and became pink. I am that girl , now 17yrs old and I have come to give you a surprise in exchange of that day's "Kiss of life".  While talking she implanted a kiss on my fore head.  After exchanging some pleasantries, I took leave of them to carry on the day's business. 

Then, the events of that day, from years ago, flashed back to me! 

In June 2000, once I was called to attend an emergency caesarian as the patient was in obstructed labor for 24hours, and the baby got stuck in pelvis, up to shoulder was outside the birth canal.  The   baby was bluish black. Since the baby was dead, the section was done only to take out the baby.

Baby is of normal color, being delivered         Baby got stuck from shoulder

                                                                                      Downwards in the birth passage

                                                                                             Cyanosed(bluish-black) 

 I told the gynecologist to do the Caesarian and to take that baby as the baby is alive. The baby was taken out of the abdomen, intubated and  ventilated with ambu bag along with CPR, but no response in the baby at all.  After 25- 30 minutes, the pediatrician and myself decided to stop the CPR.

Then, I had the brainwave, telling me, why not “Kiss of life”?  I  took out the tubes ,cleaned the mouth, spread a gauze piece over the mouth and  blew  forcibly to inflate the chest .

Just after taken out of the uterus, severe cyanosis                After mouth to mouth,

                                                                                                         baby turned pink 

And the baby shrieked, then cried violently and became pink. Heart beat and respiration settled within 5- 10 minutes. The baby was taken to neonatal care unit and was observed.  There was  absolutely no problem afterwards.  The baby was discharged on 7th day with the advice to report for checkup every fortnight.

And the same baby, taken for dead, was standing before me after 17 years without any problem whatsoever. What a surprise!!!

In case of new born babies, don't take them dead  within only 20 - 25 minutes.  Try the age-old technique of Kiss of Life. It might feel odd, unhygienic, etc. to give a “mouth to mouth”. But sometimes it does wonders and hence has been rightly called "Kiss of life". Now a days nobody  practices this and the specialists are reluctant to do it either. Perhaps, a chance may be given to either parents to try mouth to mouth to revive their baby.

[Dr. (Major) B. C. Nayak is an Anaesthetist who did his MBBS from MKCG Medical College, Berhampur, Odisha. He is an MD from the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune and an FCCP from the College of Chest Physicians New Delhi. He served in Indian Army for ten years (1975-1985) and had a stint of five years in the Royal Army of Muscat. Since 1993 he is working as the Chief Consultant Anaesthetist, Emergency and Critical Care Medicine at the Indira Gandhi Cooperative Hospital, Cochin]