“I am happy that my daughter is able to keep her right hand straight, which she couldn’t before the operations. We had no hope that she could be treated so well. However, we are waiting to see her cured completely,” said Udhav Naik, who makes a living working at construction sites. MiD DAY had reported on how the girl underwent the three-hour operation last week.

Good news: Supriya Naik after her operation. She will undergo one final surgery in February

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Supriya had burnt her hand in her village in Odisha, when she was two months old. The incident took place in January 2011, during a prolonged power outage. As it was getting dark, the parents had lit a candle in their house. While the baby was asleep, the candle fell onto her mattress.

The flames spread almost instantly, charring the child’s right hand and a part of the back of her head. The girl received 25 percent burns. Since the parents didn’t have the monetary resources to get her treated, the girl was not attended to, due to whichher right hand had undergone contracture, rendering her palm and forearm to get fuse to each other.

The family shifted to Virar three months ago, where Mumbai Mobile Creches, an NGO that looks after the children of construction site workers, noticed Supriya and referred her to Operation Restore, a free surgical camp initiated by Rotary District 3140 in association with National Burns Centre at Airoli.

“Her severe condition could have been avoided if primary treatment would have been provided to the patient on a timely basis. However, her condition has improved and she will be cured after the final operation that will be performed after three months,” said Dr S M Keswani, medical director, National Burns Centre. He added, “It is sad that most doctors of the state and the country are not updated about what should be done immediately after a burn patient is brought to them.”u00a0Dr Keswani informed that the patient would be discharged within a week, after which she will have to be brought to the hospital for dressing every 15 days.u00a0