- The rod passed through his liver and reached the top of his diaphragm.
- After only three days in intensive care he was discharged to a general ward.
A man miraculously avoided death after being impaled by an iron bar through his perineum in a freak accident.
Gruesome scans show how the rod extended to the 57-year-old’s chest.
The Brazilian, who was not identified by the doctors who shared the bloody case in a medical journal, was on a scaffold when he slipped and fell 5 meters onto the pole.
Impaling him in a delicate area, it passed through his liver and reached the top of his diaphragm, narrowly missing his heart.
CT scans also revealed that the rod had gone through his abdomen and chest, but incredibly he survived.
Gruesome scans show how the rod extended to the 57-year-old’s chest. The Brazilian, who was not identified by the doctors who shared the bloody case in a medical journal, was on a scaffold when he slipped and fell 5 meters onto the pole.
Sharing stunning details of the injury, doctors told how they removed the post in a painstaking operation.
Doctors revealed that he somehow escaped with no lasting problems and was discharged to a general ward after just three days.
Upon arrival at the Complexo Hospitalar do Trabalhador de Curitiba, his heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen levels were “stable.”
The man was rushed into emergency surgery to undergo a sternotomy, where the breastbone is cut and divided to reach the rod.
They successfully removed the post, along with the damaged tissue, and stitched up the internal wound.
He was then transferred to intensive care, where he received blood transfusions.
Just two days later, doctors reported that he could walk and eat.
When they transferred him to the ward the next day, they also offered him physical therapy.
Sharing stunning details of the injury, doctors told how they removed the post in a painstaking operation. Doctors revealed that he somehow escaped with no lasting problems and was discharged to a general ward after just three days.
During a discharge evaluation 12 days after his operation, doctors discovered abnormal scar tissue in part of his urethra and arrangements were made for further surgery to address this problem.
However, they did not reveal if the process continued and if he attended any follow-up appointments.
They also did not provide any further details about his accident.
writing in the Case reports from international journal of surgeryDoctors acknowledged that these types of incidents are “rare,” but more common “among construction workers.”
Perineal impalement injuries can prove fatal in about a quarter of all patients admitted to hospital, even when surgery is performed in time, they added.
Complications such as abscesses or sepsis also occur in up to 80 percent of cases of perineal trauma.
