Baby Eliza to undergo urgent brain surgery next week

Baby Eliza Waghmare will finally receive the medical care she needs She will undergo surgery at the Central India Institute of Medical Sciences CIIMS Nagpur on February 22Eliza was examined by wellknown neurosurgeon Dr Lokendra Singh on Wednesday who informed her parents that her brain is severely damaged and the only solution now is to do an urgent ventriculoperitoneal VP shunting to drain the excess cerebrospinal fluid CSFSpeaking to midday Dr Singh said The protein level in the Elizas CSF is very high presently so the only option before us is to carry out the surgery and remove the Ommaya reservoir that had been inserted earlier The VP shunting is done to drain out excess CSF to the abdominal cavity The method is usually adopted to divert CSF for anyone suffering from hydrocephalus The estimated cost of the surgery is Rs 75000Highly risky to tapDr Singh added The skin around her scalp where the reservoir has been inserted has already become very weak due to continuous puncturing with needles for regular tapping of CSF It would be highly risky to continue tapping CSF any further as there are chances of infections causing meningitis or ventriculitisGiven the circumstances can her parents continue extracting CSF until the surgery Dr Singh replied in the affirmative stating I am out of Nagpur until February 21 and I was keen on getting the surgery done before I leave but the parents are concerned about Elizas postoperative care in my absence and therefore they have suggested that the surgery be done once Im back I have asked them to continue extracting CSF only if it is required said Dr SinghDoing everything for herDr Shashank Joshi the consulting neurosurgeon from Mumbai who had treated Eliza in Cooper hospital said At this juncture our priority is to save Elizas life and shunting will help reduce the CSF pressure We wont be able to make any statement at this stage on the developmental factors of her brain or the extent of damage the congenital hydrocephalus might have on her as she grows biggerElizas father Anand said We are also concerned about Elizas vision Her treating doctors at KEM said she might develop partial blindness due to the ailment We havent consulted any ophthalmologists so far We are doing everything possible to save her and with no salary from AIESL it is becoming a bit difficultAnand has stopped reporting to work at AIESL Nagpur since Monday due to Elizas deteriorating health I have intimated my office through email about my circumstances for taking leave As expected I havent received any reply from them he said Meanwhile Anands advocate Rajeshwar Panchal has moved all papers pertaining to the case to his counterpart practicing in the Supreme Court Panchal said As per the new rule the SC has to take a matter on board within seven days from the petition being filed We are awaiting the Bombay High Court order dismissing Anands petition which will be challenged in the apex court soonAlso ViewBaby Eliza Heartwrenching story of a kid fighting to stay aliveCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates