Doctors Performed Life-Saving Surgeries on Chinese Manjha Victims

Two of the many recent cases of life-threatening injuries, highlight the menace of "Chinese manjha" and its rampant illegal sale, despite a ban by the Government. A team of doctors, led by Dr Manoj K Johar, Senior Director & Head, Dept of Plastic Surgery, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Patparganj, recently saved the lives of two such victims caught in the manjha's deathly tangle.

It's a misconception about the Chinese manjha that it is imported. Instead, the yarn, staple fibre, man-made filaments, etc. are imported. The use of nylon or single plastic fibre strings, composed of monofilament fishing lines coated with powdered glass in place of the traditional cotton thread, has turned kite flying, once a harmless sport, into a "bloody" social threat. Although it is made locally, the transparent, light-coloured thread, commonly referred to as "Chinese" manjha, is not particularly noticeable.

One of the patients, aged 61 years, had injuries so deep as if her throat had been slit with a knife. She was riding a two-wheeler when she felt a thread around her throat, and the next moment she felt an excruciating pain with profuse bleeding. She was taken to the nearest local hospital, where she was diagnosed with a severe deep neck injury and advised to be shifted to a super-speciality hospital. She was then brought into Max Hospital, Patparganj.

"The patient had deep injuries in her throat. Due to severe blood loss, the patient was in a very serious condition. Her neck was so badly injured that it required immediate emergency life-saving surgery. Plastic surgery was successfully performed with neurovascular and muscle repair, followed by anatomical closure of the neck. She is still recovering physically, but it will take a long time for her to recover psychologically," said Dr Manoj K Johar.

Similarly, a 54-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital with an injury in the right leg due to a sharp manjha cut. She was crossing the road when a kite string got stuck in her leg, causing a complete transection of her tendoachiles (muscles that connect the calf with the heel bone), leading to severe bleeding. She also had to undergo repair surgery.
"In many instances, such victims, being caught by surprise, also tend to suffer falls at high speeds or collisions with other vehicles due to loss of control, thereby not only endangering their own lives but that of others. After similar incidents were reported in 2016, the Government had issued a ban on the use of these products, but now its use has gone up again," added Dr Johar.

Dr Kousar Shah, Senior Vice President & Head, Max Hospital, Patparganj, said: "These two cases are evidence of the threat of these illegally manufactured manjhas pose. The rise in cases around January and August each year raises serious concern about their sales, despite a ban. We also hear about the grievous injuries these cause to stray animals. As a society, we need to be aware of the fatal injuries these manjas cause and stop their use with immediate effect. I also wish to plead to the authorities concerned for enforcing the bans in a more stringent manner before these deadly manjhas claim any more lives".