In an example of the effectiveness of air ambulance service in the predominantly mountainous State of Uttarakhand the doctors of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Rishikesh were successful in reattaching the amputated hand of a labourer after he was brought to the hospital by air ambulance on time.

 On May 20, Shariff Ansari of remote Dharchula town located near the Indo- Nepal border in Pithoragarh district got involved in an accident while working on a mortar machine. In the accident his right hand got severed from the body.

 Fortunately Ansari was able to get the benefit of an air ambulance which airlifted him to AIIMS Rishikesh. It is pertinent to mention here that it takes about 24 hours to reach AIIMS Rishikesh from remote Dharchula by road. A team of trauma and plastic surgeons and other doctors received the patient in AIIMS Rishikesh. The severed limb of Ansari was kept wrapped in a clean towel and was kept in an ice box.  The team of doctors were able to reattach the hand of the patient after a five-hour long surgical procedure which involved repairing of the damaged blood vessels and bone. The team was led by head of department of trauma Dr Qamar Ahmed and HoD of plastic surgery department Dr Vishal Mago and included surgeons of trauma department Dr Niraj Kumar, Dr Sunil Kumar and Dr Akshay Kapoor and Dr Niraj Rao of plastic surgery department.

 The trauma experts of the institute informed that initial six hours are important in such types of surgeries and in this case the air ambulance service proved crucial in saving the limb of the patient.

Expressing happiness, the executive director of AIIMS Rishikesh Dr Meenu Singh said that AIIMS is a tertiary care centre and we are committed to provide high quality medical services to the patients.