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Aashid Chandra’s deep yawn, right before a peaceful sleep on Vivek Express (22503) bound for Dibrugarh early Friday (October 17, 2025), turned into an agonising ordeal. The 24-year-old youth from West Bengal had no idea that his jaw would soon be locked open. His jaw joints had dislocated, so he was unable to close his mouth and was in severe pain.
As panic set in, his relative alerted the travelling ticket examiner (TTE), who, in turn, informed the railway authorities at Palakkad. At 2.30 a.m., when the train pulled into Palakkad Junction, ENT surgeon Jithin P.S. from the Palakkad Railway Hospital was waiting on the platform, ready to help.
Seated on a platform bench, Aashid gestured to Dr. Jithin. He was unable to speak or swallow saliva due to the locked jaw. Dr. Jithin diagnosed a temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dislocation and manually reduced it using a gauze bandage.
Dr. Jithin fixed the issue in less than three minutes, even though such dislocations may need hospital treatment. He had handled TMJ reductions in hospitals before, but this was his first time treating a passenger on a train.
Video went viral
A video of Dr. Jithin reducing Aashid’s TMJ subluxation, shared by the Railways, has gone viral on social media. Many responded positively and shared their own experiences.
Meanwhile, doctors warned that manual reduction of a jaw dislocation should not be tried without medical expertise.
“If an inexperienced person tries it, they may risk bone fracture and even arterial injury. The pressure a doctor applies is critical. Laypeople often cannot deliver the correct force,” said Dr. Jithin.
Jaw dislocation, though rare, can cause severe trauma. It may be triggered by excessive opening of mouth while yawning and dental procedures, accidents or seizures.
ENT specialists, maxillofacial surgeons, trained emergency physicians and orthopaedists usually handle jaw dislocation. Treatment usually occurs in a hospital after pain relief injection. ENT doctors warn that manual reduction is not as simple as it seems.
Also, while congratulating the Railways and Dr. Jithin, many responders to the video were also curious to know the way to contact the Railways for on-train medical emergencies.
Rail app
Palakkad Divisional Railway Manager Madhukar Roat urged passengers to use the Rail Madad mobile app for medical help and queries. They can also dial 138 toll-free in a medical emergency or seek TTE assistance.
Mr. Roat said the response time to passengers’ emergency calls has noticeably reduced, boosting Railways’ general efficiency.
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