Senior vascular surgeons caution Sankranti festival revellers of kite string injuries

Every year, in addition to birds and other animals, even people receive severe injuries after coming in contact with kite flying threads that are laced with glass and metal manja.

Hyderabad: Senior vascular surgeons and physicians have cautioned Sankranti festival revellers from sustaining grievous injuries during the kite flying celebrations. Every year, in addition to birds and other animals, even people receive severe injuries after coming in contact with kite flying threads that are laced with glass and metal manja.

At least one or two individuals get wheeled-into the emergency departments of government or private hospitals in the city with life threatening injuries like deep cuts and lacerations on the neck region every year. Sometimes, youngsters also sustain serious fractures while chasing a kite.

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“Last year, a 45-year-old woman was admitted to the emergency wing in shock due to massive blood loss, after her throat was slit by a kite string. She was injured while riding a two wheeler. She was saved after an emergency surgery as the incident happened close to our hospital. Till now I have operated six such cases of life threatening injuries due to kite string over a period of 15 years,” said Dr Devender Singh, senior vascular and endovascular surgeon, Yashoda Group of Hospitals, Hyderabad.

In the battle of kites, one of the strings gets severed, sending it down with the kite, far from the kite flyers. Often, it ends up entangling an unsuspecting pedestrian or two-wheeler rider’s neck, causing injury or death.

“Most of the injuries are of a minor nature and go unreported. Many youngsters risk life and limb chasing severed kites dodging traffic dangerously and jumping across walls or trees or tripping from terraces while flying kites,” Dr Devender added