THE Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) has saved the life of a six-year-old child, Maliki Hashimu, who was injured by a sharp object in a domestic fiasco where his throat was cut.

Dr Juma Mfinanga, head of department for emergency medicine and trauma at the medical facility, said that MNH surgeons used five steps, with the child being admitted at the intensive care unit (ICU) for 13 days.

Hashimu Kitumbi, Maliki's father expressed gratitude to President Samia Suluhu Hassan for covering his son's medical expenses, appealing to stakeholders and community members to assist his family to sustain life and help his son manage to overcome the traumatic incident.

The child was admitted to the hospital on July 15th in a critical condition, the surgeon noted, affirming that an entire team of doctors and nurses at the Emergency Medical Department (EMD) had to rush at nine in the night.

The child was brought by colleagues from a private hospital in Goba, accompanied by his mother and in a critical condition, with severe neck injuries caused by a sharp object that completely severed his airway. 

“He had been cut in the front and back of the neck, losing a lot of blood," the medic explained, noting that the initial step taken by the team was to make sure he could breathe. They found the severed piece of the airway and connected it with a tube that reached his lungs, he stated.

The medics inserted a tube and connected it to a machine, and upon seeing that he was breathing, the next step was to restore the lost blood level. “Then we saw his heartbeat returning, he was breathing with the help of the machine, and we called in ENT (Ear, Nose, and Throat) specialists," he elaborated.

Dr Aslam Nkya, an ear, nose and throat surgeon, said the child underwent throat reconstruction especially in the area injured by the sharp object.

"The sharp object completely separated the throat,” he said, underlining that it was a delicate task to restore the throat and the back area to sit properly.

“In collaboration with throat doctors, anaesthetists and nurses, we took him to the operating room and found a device and another way to breathe, which he is now using, called 'tracheostomy,'" he stated.

The team had to perform surgery to repair and reconnect the throat to return to normal and treat the back neck wound that had reached the backbone, he further noted, hinting that for two weeks, the child would breathe using that device until it is removed and then breathe normally, and being able to speak.

MNH paediatric intensive care supervisor Dr Namala Mkopi said that Maliki has been hospitalized for about 24 days, where 13 were spent at the ICU.

"We started seeing Maliki when he was at EMD, and after that, he was brought to us. We first waited for him to stabilize, be safe and overcome the risk of losing his life to proceed with another surgery," he stated.

"We worked with nutritionists to ensure he got a proper diet and physiotherapists to help him strengthen his neck, and walk, and now he can eat, talk, and walk," the specialist noted.

After the incident, Maliki was taken to a private clinic then to MNH Mloganzila branch before being shifted to the main facility at Upanga, as the injury put his life on a thread.

He was scarcely breathing, not audible after extensive loss of blood and writhing in pain, medics noted.