Featured Image Credit: Cureus
Topics: World News, Health
Gerrard Kaonga
A construction site accident resulted in a man needing life-saving surgery to remove a nail that had gotten lodged in his brain.
Workplace accidents can certainly be terrifying thing and this story proves how close some workers come to death.
An unidentified 30-year-old man was rushed to hospital with a serious injury that many would believe would prove to be fatal.
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The man, a construction worker in Malaysia, was brought in with a loss of vision and bleeding of the left eye after he accidentally fired a malfunctioning nail gun into his face.
His story was recently featured in a Cureus medical report that detailed the bizarre incident that saw the nail lodged into his brain.
“He was using a pneumatic nail gun without wearing protective goggles. When the nail gun jammed, he checked it through the gun barrel and accidentally fired the nail gun onto his left eye,” the report read.
Miraculously, the man was conscious throughout the whole ordeal and complained of a headache. Yeah, I'll bet.
“Other than left eye wounds and swelling, primary and secondary examinations did not reveal additional injuries. He had no past significant medical, surgical, or drug history,” the report continued.
“He complained of headache and left eye pain, and otherwise he was cooperative and fully oriented during the examination. The muscular strength and tension of all four limbs were normal.”
After being examined at hospital Sultanah Bahiyah in Alor Setar he was seen to by stunned doctors. A CT scan showed that the nail had become lodged in the frontal lobe of the brain, the part necessary for movement and language.
He was immediately given a tetanus jab, antibiotics through a drip and anti-seizure medication.
In an impressive show of their skills, medics were able to successfully remove the 3.2cm nail in a single piece and there was no active bleeding after removal of the nail.
The nail had managed to miss vital arteries and nerve, suggesting it was unlikely he would suffer from long-term nerve damage.
He spent five days in intensive care before he was discharged and doctors said, ‘he recovered well during his postoperative period with no neurological deficit.'
A week after the surgery, the man was still unable to close his eye properly and could not see light through his left eye.
Medics are not aware of how the man’s recovery continued as he returned to his unidentified country for further treatment.
The man is certainly lucky to even be alive, and I'm sure will be wearing safety equipment in future.