Md Haji Moiuddin after his operation at Prabhawati Hospital in Ranchi on Friday. Picture by Prashant Mitra

After all, there was some light in the end of the long, dark tunnel that the state had turned into on Thursday.

On a day a strike by JSEB employees plunged Jharkhand into darkness and an infant girl died at state-run Patliputra Medical College Hospital in Dhanbad as the incubator, which was not connected to generators, failed to run, a private facility went ahead with a surgery and achieved quite a feat by fixing the dislocated hip of an 112-year-old man — all with the help of electricity backup.

Prabhawati Hospital, a private healthcare centre in the state capital, could have easily postponed Md Haji Moiuddin’s operation, which was quite risky given the patient’s age, heart condition and high blood pressure. But it went ahead with its plans and carried out a successful surgery at the operating theatre that ran on generators, thus once again underscoring the need to upgrade and streamline facilities at state-run hospitals.

“Moiuddin’s surgery was scheduled yesterday (Thursday) and he was admitted to our hospital the day before. There was no question of postponing it even though the state was left grappling without power. We had full generator support and faced no difficulty,” said director of Prabhawati Hospital M.P. Singh, lauding his team for carrying out a “rare and memorable” surgery

Moiuddin, a resident of Itke village at Balumath in Naxalite-affected Latehar district, dislocated his hip bone after he fell down due to giddiness on his way to the mosque about a fortnight back. The freedom fighter, who had taken part in the movement for independence along with leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, needed a surgery. He approached many doctors but all of them turned him away.

“No body was willing to operate on him considering his age. Finally, we approached Prabhawati Hospital, which agreed to take the risk,” said Md Zia ul Rashid, Moiuddin’s 70-year-old son, who had accompanied the former, along with his 78-year-old elder sister, to the hospital.

The hospital authorities admit that the surgery was quit a challenge.

“Moiuddin is 112. His heart is weak and blood pressure high. So, we had to be very careful while administering anaesthesia to him. Our anaesthetist, Stephen Hansda, put all his skills and experience to great use and did a splendid job,” said Singh.

“With the same dose of anaesthesia that is given to normal patients, aged people’s blood pressure shoots up. Therefore, we ensured that his blood pressure did not rise. We also had to see to it that his heart did not get much pressure. Then, we carried out a minimal invasive operation,” added Sanjay Jaiwal, an orthopaedic.

A much better and healthier Moiuddin was spotted moving around the hospital on a wheelchair on Friday.

If only little Baby’s incubator at Dhanbad hospital could similarly draw power from generators, she would have been alive and kicking today.