Shillong, June 13: Doctors at the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health & Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) hospital saved the life of an 11-year-old boy by conducting a critical surgery and removing a 3 foot long iron rod from his chest.
The boy is from Jaintia Hills and the case was reported to the casualty with a history of fall landing his chest on the rod.
The child was impaled with the rod puncturing the right chest, traversed behind the right collar bone ending behind at the nape of the neck.
A CT scan revealed the penetration course of the iron rod grazing the great vessels and nerves supplying right upper limb.
Due to the risk to the blood supply of the right upper limb which would result in its amputation, a decision for emergent removal of the rod was taken.
The patient was anesthetised by Dr Kaustuv Dutta and Dr Sonia Nahakpam. The surgery was conducted by the cardiothoracic team led by Dr Reuben Lamiaki Kynta, Dr Dathia Tongper, Dr Biman Chandra Sinha and Dr L Janendro Singh.
The right chest was opened, explored and rod extracted with controlled manipulation to minimise injury to the great vessels and nerves supplying right upper limb which were inspected and control of bleeding was done.
“The aim to report this case through you is that in any case of impalements or stabs due to foreign bodies, an attempt to remove the object should not be attempted and the patient should be transported to a medical facility as soon as possible,” Dr Reuben said.
