'Liver doc' Dr Abby Philips saves breathless man's life on Akasa flight, wins hearts!

Mumbai: Proving that a doctor is always on duty, Dr Cyriac Abby Philips, a Kochi-based Hepatologist better known as the “Liver Doc” on social media became the saviour of a fellow passenger who was experiencing severe breathing difficulties on an Akasa Air flight from Kochi to Mumbai.

Dr Philips demonstrated his exceptional skills when a medical emergency occurred during the flight. His quick intervention and assistance in the situation successfully saved the life of the passenger.

Sharing the incident on 'X', the doctor said, "As a doctor, the first time I actually used a stethoscope after three and half years was on a mid-air flight, two days ago."

The incident happened on January 14 when Dr Philips was trying to take a nap on the late evening flight when suddenly the man sitting next to him became 'breathless'. Soon, he woke up hearing the commotion nearby and found the air hostess trying to plug in the man's nebulizer for emergency inhalational treatment.

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It was at that time that the doctor intervened in the situation and helped the air hostess get the machine running for the passenger. After realising that the man was not getting better, Dr Philips took out his oximeter which that the man's oxygen saturation was at 36% - well below normal.

"I asked him if he was asthmatic and he denied it. I was confused why he had a nebulization kit. I asked for the stethoscope and found that his left-side lung sounds were completely absent. It was water-filled (a condition called pleural effusion).

In between breaths, the man tells me that his kidneys are bad. I asked him if he was on dialysis and he was on it three days a week and the next one was planned for the next day. His medications were over last night. I scroll through his unlocked phone images to see his last prescriptions. Most were for high blood pressure," Dr Philips said.

Noticing his high blood pressure prescription images, Dr Philips checked his blood pressure and found it was 280/160 and he was in accelerated hypertension with drowning lungs.

"We had 1 hour to land for emergency medical services to attend him. We had to keep him alive.

I have no idea what happened next, but it felt like I was inside an ICU and had to make quick decisions. Mid-air, I did a double puncture on his only accessible vein on the right side and further access was lost. The other upper limb had a dialysis fistula made and I could not use it. So I gave him a frusemide injection into his buttock muscles ( a VERY long time since I gave an adult an intramuscular injection) after telling him it was going to pain, but I had no other options and also because it was so hard to find a vein as he was struggling and the flight was a bit turbulent.

At one point, he was leaning on my shoulders and gasping while I comforted him, by lying to him by telling him that we have already arrived. We had another 30 minutes left," he added

The doctor said that the Akasa Air staff helped him calmly throughout the ordeal, following his instructions. They provided oxygen cylinders for the patient which helped his oxygen saturation go up to 90%. He was also given blood pressure pills which were available in the flight ER kit.

"Before he was taken off the plane, he handed me his mobile and asked me to enter my phone number and I did and placed it back on inside his sling pouch.

One hour on that plane felt like a whole day inside an terrifying ICU. By the time we landed, and before scheduled time, he was lethargic, still breathless, but blood pressure controlled. I spoke to the family on phone right after we landed and they took him in an ambulance to the hospital nearby," the doctor said.

Dr Philips also said that the family members of the patient informed him about his recovery via WhatsApp. "The next day, his family messaged me to let me know that he was well. In the evening, after my podcast recording, the patient himself called me after he was shifted out of ICU post-emergency dialysis," he added.

Sharing the man's condition, Dr Philips said that the man’s potassium level was 9.0 and his kidney functions were “haywire”. Had his condition not been stabilised, he could have had a fatal cardiac arrest mid-air. Thankfully, he was rushed to the hospital where they removed extra fluid during dialysis and he became better in a few hours.

Thanking the flight attendants of the particular Akasa Air flight, Dr Philips said, "I would like to thank the flight attendants on Akasa Air QP-1519 from COK to BOM 8 PM on the night of 14th January 2024. I am sorry I did not ask your names, because it was an incredibly difficult time. But we saved this man's life. Would not have been possible without your help. And want you to know this. Thank you."

In response to Dr Philips’s post, Akasa Air wrote, “We are extremely grateful for your quick response and immediate assistance, which was instrumental in saving the life of a fellow passenger onboard our flight QP 1519. Our crew members Dhanya, Zargaam, Arnav, Kiritika in the cabin and Munish & Neha from the flight deck were privileged to have you as a crucial part of the team. Thank you once again for embodying the true spirit of care and compassion.”

His courageous act was praised and admired by both the general public, the online community as well as the medical community who congratulated him for his efforts in responding to the medical emergency.

Also read- Indian Origin Hepatologist Saves Passenger Whose Heart Stopped Twice On UK To India Flight