23-year-old Indian boy dies after mother massages injured leg

Post-mortem says blood clot in leg travelled to pulmonary artery

NEW DELHI: A 23-year-old was recovering fast from an ankle injury which was still in plaster when his mother gave the affected leg an oil massaged to ease the pain. She was totally unaware of the consequences, said The Times of India (TOI) on Tuesday.

The victim, a resident of New Delhi, was injured in 2016 while playing badminton following which a plaster was placed on his leg to immobilise it. Soon enough, however, a clot of blood formed deep in his veins.



On October 31 last year, he was rushed to the emergency ward of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at 9:30 pm, comatose and cold. He died a little while later.

The presence of a blood clot after an ankle fracture is not uncommon, but the unexpected death of a youth due to the complications arising from it was rare, said Dr Chittaranjan Behera, who conducted a post-mortem on him.

The post-mortem confirmed the blood blot but a dislodged one that had travelled to his pulmonary artery – that supplies blood to the lungs – from his leg veins, causing death.

"Doctors could not revive him despite the best resuscitative efforts. Later, it was found that the victim's mother had given him a massage for 30 minutes and he complained of pain in the left calf at around 8:45 pm. That left him breathless and he suddenly collapsed. This was because the clot in his leg travelled to the arteries that supply blood to the lungs," explained the doctor.

The case was recently published in the Medico-Legal Journal which stated that massages are often given for general fitness and for treating minor health problems.



"There was no advice recorded in the hospital [AIIMS] by the doctors about the risks and dangers of massage to this affected leg. This advice should have been provided," said the report.

Massages, considered relaxing, help ease pain, but when it comes to easing a patient’s pain, only physiotherapists – a therapist who treats physical injury or dysfunction – should be consulted.

Dr Sudhir Gupta, professor and head of forensic medicine at AIIMS, said the youth's death should serve as a warning against massages by laypersons.

"Using forceful techniques and for prolonged periods in a patient with deep vein thrombosis can lead to fatal complications," he added.