- The rod pierced his liver and reached the top of his diaphragm
- After just three days in intensive care, he was discharged to a general ward
A man miraculously avoided death after being impaled through his perineum by an iron rod in a freak accident.
Gruesome scans show how the rod extended into the 57-year-old’s chest.
The Brazilian man, who was not identified by doctors who shared the gory case in a medical journal, was standing on scaffolding when he slipped and fell five meters onto the pole.
He was impaled in a vulnerable area, puncturing his liver and reaching the top of his diaphragm, narrowly missing his heart.
CT scans also revealed that the rod had pierced his abdomen and chest, but incredibly he survived.
Gruesome scans show how the rod extended into the 57-year-old’s chest. The Brazilian man, who was not identified by doctors who shared the gory case in a medical journal, was standing on scaffolding when he slipped and fell five meters onto the pole.
The doctors shared eye-opening details of the injury and how they removed the post in a painstaking operation.
Medicine revealed that he was somehow able to escape without any lasting problems and was taken to a general ward after just three days.
Upon arrival at Complexo Hospitalar do Trabalhador in Curitiba, his heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen levels were all ‘stable’.
The man was rushed into surgery and had to undergo a sternotomy, where the breastbone was cut and split apart to reach the rod.
They successfully removed the post, along with damaged tissue, and sutured 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 he was transferred to the ward the next day, he was also offered physiotherapy.
The doctors shared eye-opening details of the injury and how they removed the post in a painstaking operation. Medicine revealed that he was somehow able to escape without any lasting problems and was taken to a general ward after just three days
During a discharge assessment 12 days after his surgery, doctors discovered abnormal scar tissue on part of his urethra and arrangements were made for further surgery to correct this.
However, they did not reveal whether the procedure went ahead or whether he attended any follow-up appointments.
They also provided no further details about his accident.
Writing in the Case reports from the International Journal of Surgerymedics acknowledged that such incidents are ‘rare’ but more common ‘among construction workers’.
Injuries from perineal impaling can be fatal in about a quarter of all patients admitted to hospital, even if surgery is performed in a timely manner, she added.
Complications such as abscesses or sepsis also occur in up to 80 percent of perineal trauma cases.