Pune: In a remarkable story of courage, resilience, and expert medical care, a three-year-old child who suffered nearly 60% burn injuries and survived a cardiac arrest was successfully treated at Ankura Hospital for Women & Children, Pune. A coordinated effort led by Dr. Milind M. Jambagi, the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) team, and Dr Shrikant Pingale, Plastic Surgeon, helped the critically injured child overcome multiple life-threatening complications due to burns, including shock, cardiac arrest, and respiratory failure, ultimately leading to a successful recovery after more than 40 days of intensive treatment.
What began as a normal day for Master Harish (name changed)*, a three-year-old resident of Thergaon, Pune, quickly turned into a terrifying ordeal for his family. While playing at home on 28th March 2026, the young child accidentally fell into a container filled with hot tamarind liquid, his father was preparing for his Chaat Centre, suffering severe scald burns over large parts of his body. In a matter of seconds, laughter turned into panic as his parents rushed to pull him to safety. The burns affected his chest, back, abdomen, face, neck, arms, legs, genital and gluteal region, covering nearly 55–60% of his body surface area. Watching their little boy in excruciating pain and fighting for survival was every parent’s worst nightmare. The family immediately sought emergency medical help, beginning a long and challenging battle to save his life. The child was initially rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors provided emergency treatment. However, during treatment, his condition worsened, and he suffered a cardiac arrest, further complicating an already critical situation. Recognizing the need for advanced pediatric intensive care, he was urgently transferred to Ankura Hospital for Women & Children, Pune.
Upon arrival at Ankura Hospital, the child was in an extremely critical condition and required ventilator support, continuous monitoring, emergency resuscitation, and intensive pediatric critical care management. The extensive burn injuries, combined with complications following cardiac arrest, posed a major challenge for the treating team due to fluctuating blood pressures and respiratory failure needing mechanical ventilation.
Dr. Milind M. Jambagi, Head of PICU and Pediatric Emergency Services at Ankura Hospital, who is also the Chairperson, Education Committee, World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies, Geneva, said, “The child had sustained severe burns involving nearly 60% of his body and had already suffered a cardiac arrest before being referred to us. Such extensive burn injuries can affect multiple organs and increase the risk of severe infection, shock, breathing difficulties, and other life-threatening complications apart from long-term disabilities. Our immediate focus was to stabilize his condition, support his vital organs, control pain, prevent infections, and initiate advanced wound care. He underwent comprehensive treatment that included respiratory support, strict infection control measures, nutritional rehabilitation, repeated burn wound dressings, collagen dressings, debridement procedures, and intensive rehabilitation. Throughout his prolonged hospital stay, a multidisciplinary team worked around the clock to monitor his progress and address every aspect of his recovery. Cases like these require constant vigilance, as even minor setbacks can quickly become life-threatening in severely burned children.”
Dr. Milind M. Jambagi further added, “Children with major burn injuries require much more than wound treatment alone. Burns can trigger severe inflammation throughout the body and make patients highly vulnerable to multi-organ failure, sometimes needing intensive treatment like dialysis. Adequate nutrition, respiratory support, meticulous wound management, and rehabilitation are all equally important components of treatment. Despite developing shock and respiratory failure following cardiac arrest, this child showed extraordinary resilience. With the support of our multidisciplinary team, he gradually improved and continued to make steady progress every day. After more than 40 days of intensive and protocolised care in the hospital, the child showed remarkable recovery. His wounds healed well, he was breathing normally without support, accepting feeds adequately, and steadily regaining strength.”
Dr Shrikant Pingale, Consultant Plastic Surgeon, further added, “The most commendable part of his care at Ankura Hospital was that the child never got any infection throughout his hospital stay. This was possible due to the regular wound care, dressing, highly specialised and protocolised care given at the PICU at Ankura Hospital. He was eventually discharged in a stable condition on 11th May 2026. He is currently being followed up on an OPD basis for continued recovery and rehabilitation, and is off any medications.”
“Severe burn injuries in children can be devastating not only physically but also emotionally for families. This case highlights the importance of early first aid, timely referral to specialized pediatric critical care centers, strict infection control, nutritional support, and coordinated multidisciplinary management. At Ankura Hospital, we remain committed to providing advanced pediatric emergency and critical care services that give children the best possible chance of recovery, even in the most challenging circumstances,” said Dr. Milind M. Jambagi.
“Seeing our child in that condition was the most painful experience of our lives. There were moments when we feared we would lose him. Every day felt uncertain, especially after we learned about the cardiac arrest and the seriousness of his burns. The doctors, nurses, and support staff at Ankura Hospital stood by us through every difficult moment. We would like to thank all those who supported us anonymously as well. Watching him slowly recover, start eating again, and smile once more felt nothing short of a miracle. We will always be grateful to the Ankura Hospital team for giving our child a second chance at life,” said the child’s parents.