CAYMAN ISLANDS (May 25, 2016) – A young Caymanian who suffered life-threatening injuries as the result of a motorcycle accident is recovering today thanks to the skilled teamwork and timely response of heart surgeons at Health City Cayman Islands.
John Miller III, 25, arrived at the international hospital in critical condition with a traumatic aortic injury. Typically, only 10 percent of people with such an injury make it to a hospital or medical center alive; of those who do, 50 percent will die within 24 hours unless they receive appropriate treatment.
Dr. Binoy Chattuparambil, Chief Cardiac Surgeon of Health City Cayman Islands, who was preparing for bed when the call came, immediately assembled a diversified team of specialists, including a transfusionist, an anesthesiologist, operating room nurses, and intensive care nurses, all of whom responded quickly and were ready to operate when the injured Miller arrived.
“He was really critical at that time. His aorta was damaged. He was not responding really well even though he was awake,” said Dr. Binoy as he is commonly addressed.
The Health City surgeon lauded the skill and speed of the teams at Health Services Authority (HSA) in George Town, who were the first to treat the accident survivor. “Because diagnosing this type of injury is not easy, it can go wrong. So they spotted it, and at the right time they informed us and shifted very fast and even organized blood to be sent here.”
Health City heart surgeon Dr. Sumit Modi recounted how the skill of the doctors and nurses was reflected in the volume of blood used: “During the entire procedure we didn’t transfuse a single unit of blood – that was a major thing. All this was possible because of our team effort between the HSA emergency team and our hospital.”
After the successful cardiac surgery, Miller was attended to by Health City’s skilled physical therapists who employed a highly specialized approach because of the cardiac as well as orthopedic dimensions. Miller had 24 hours of coverage, and had to sleep and immediately wake up doing his exercises to make sure he was breathing clearly.
John Miller Jr., father of the young man, was touched as much by the compassion of those involved in saving his son’s life as their tremendous skill. He appreciated the attention shown to him during his son’s experience at Health City: “When I first arrived, the doctors immediately informed me of everything. I was given it straight up. It was direct. ‘This is the situation. This is what is going to happen’. I was prepared for everything at the same time. It’s strictly professional, how it should be. At the same time you could still feel the warmth of the professionals, which I do appreciate.”
The younger Miller echoed his father’s sentiments: “I’d just like to thank all the doctors at Health City for what they’ve done for me. They gave me a second chance in life. I just appreciate everything. They took care of me in ICU (Intensive Care Unit). They took care of me in the ward. They’re still taking care of me even though I’m out, recovering, healthy.”
Visiting Health City Cayman Islands with a bandaged hand and a new lease on life, he described the experience: “I ended up here by the grace of God. I got in an accident and this is where I was referred to, which to me, was the right decision, because I don’t think that I would have made it anywhere else, in the condition I was in.”
