Paragliding Accident In Hp Cinematographer George Richmond Stable After Surgery At Pgi

British cinematographer George Richmond, best known for his work on Hollywood blockbusters such as “Free Guy” and “Deadpool & Wolverine”, underwent a successful surgery and is recovering at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) here, days after he was injured in a paragliding accident in Himachal Pradesh’s Kullu district.

Following rescue and evacuation efforts, including support from the Indian Air Force (IAF), the 54-year-old, who suffered a spinal injury, was brought to the Advanced Trauma Centre of PGIMER in the early morning hours of Tuesday and admitted under the care of orthopaedic surgery. His injuries comprise a fracture of the C1 vertebra along with a fracture-dislocation at the C5-C6 level, resulting in quadriplegia.

Richmond is presently stable, conscious and communicating effectively. He continues to remain under close observation by a dedicated multidisciplinary team comprising doctors, nurses, rehabilitation specialists and allied healthcare professionals. Early mobilisation in a wheelchair has been planned as part of his comprehensive rehabilitation programme.

PGIMER director Prof Vivek Lal said, “At PGIMER, our foremost commitment is to provide timely, compassionate and world-class medical care to every patient who comes to us, irrespective of nationality, background or circumstance.”

Once the patient was adequately stabilised and optimised for surgery, definitive operative intervention was planned through an extensive multidisciplinary collaboration involving orthopaedic spine surgeons, neurosurgeons, anaesthesiologists, critical care specialists, rehabilitation experts and highly trained paramedical personnel, he added.

Following surgery, Richmond was monitored in the postoperative recovery unit.

The surgery was led by Dr Vishal Kumar, an additional professor of orthopaedic surgery and involved the removal of the damaged intervertebral disc and fractured elements causing neural compression. Reconstruction was performed using an interbody cage packed with bone graft substitute material, followed by stabilisation with a cervical plate and screws.

Providing details of the surgical management, Prof. Vijay G Goni, head of the orthopaedics department, stated, “A major milestone was achieved through fluoroscopy-guided closed reduction of the cervical fracture-dislocation, a technically demanding procedure that successfully restored spinal alignment and eliminated the need for a combined anterior and posterior surgery, thereby reducing surgical morbidity. Following satisfactory reduction, definitive anterior cervical decompression, reconstruction and stabilisation were carried out to restore spinal stability and protect neurological function.”