A doctor became the heroine of a child whose appendicitis worsened during a flight. According to a story reported by Milenio, the incident occurred on a Mexico-Paris route run by Air France.
Doctor Saves Child With Appendicitis
According to the information, the four-year-old boy began to feel severe stomach pain two hours after the flight had taken off. At that moment, his mother and his flight attendants asked the pilot to ask through the speakers if there was a doctor on board. Minutes later, after a second call, the doctor, Violeta Alvarez Perdomo, who worked at the IMSS for many years, reported to the plane staff to treat the child. Her flight attendants told her that she had been given paracetamol at least to try to control her pain.
What Is Appendicitis?
Appendicitis is an inflammation of the appendix, a small finger-shaped organ attached to the cecum, the first part of the large intestine. Removing the appendix does not cause significant problems, but failure to detect inflammation can be fatal. Therefore, the child’s situation was critical on the plane. Appendicitis usually occurs when the appendix becomes blocked, either by feces, tumors, swollen lymph nodes, or other foreign materials. This obstruction can lead to inflammation and infection of the appendix.
Typical symptoms of appendicitis include abdominal pain on the right side, starting around the belly button and moving to the lower right part of the abdomen, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, fever, and tenderness to touch in the abdominal area. In an emergency, surgery is required to remove the inflamed appendix before it ruptures and causes a serious infection in the abdomen. In the case of the child, everything could have led to peritonitis with the serious risk of losing his life.
In many cases, appendicitis is confused with stomach pain and, when studies are done in the area, it may not be seen clearly. Therefore, it can suddenly break loose, causing tremendous pain like that of the minor.
The Doctor’s Help to Save the Child
After examining the child with her stethoscope, the doctor determined that the condition was appendicitis and that the child had to be immediately taken off the plane so that the organ could be removed. Otherwise, the consequences would be fatal. However, the pilots were not certain of the diagnosis because the doctor did not have her professional ID. After communicating with the French authorities, the decision was made to divert the plane to Canada where the child could be treated. The doctor, a graduate of the IPN and who had already retired after decades of service in the IMSS, saved his life.
“A true example of putting ‘The Technique at the Service of the Homeland’ was the one given by Violeta Álvarez Perdomo: with the timely diagnosis of, she is a graduate of the IPN, she saved – in the middle of an international flight – the life of a minor. Without a doubt, a laudable action that represents the spirit of those who pass through the ranks of our institution. Congratulations and our recognition to Violeta, and may similar examples of her professionalism become more and more. Huélum!”, was the message from the IPN on its official X account.
This story was written in Spanish by Miguel Fernandez in Cultura Colectiva News
