Doctors do complicated surgery to remove key pierced into boy’s skull

Doctors do complicated surgery to remove key pierced into boy’s skull

Story by Sagaya Fernando

Mumbai: April 23, 2018

In a horrific incident, a 19-year-old boy from Ghodegaon village in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra state in India was impaled with a motorbike key into his skull during a brawl.

The teenager was rushed to Anand Rishi Hospital in Ahmednagar city, about 34 kilometers from where the incident took place, where a scan was done which showed that the key has pierced into the skull by more than an inch. The victim was attended to by neurosurgeon Dr. Shailendra Uttamrao Markad and his team who conducted craniotomy surgery to have the key removed.

“On April 18 at around 11 am, in a brawl at his village, the teenager was assaulted by someone and a bike key got lodged deep into his skull. He was brought to my out-patient department at around 3.30 pm, and after seeing the scan report we started the surgery at around 6.30 pm on the same day,” said Dr. Markad.

“The key had pierced around 1 and a half inch into the victim’s brain. Luckily he didn’t suffer internal bleeding and there was no damage to his brain. Had there been severe internal bleeding, it could have cost him his life,” said Dr. Ashish Bhandari, the administrator of Anand Rishi Hospital.

Dr. Markad and his team performed a procedure known as craniotomy also known which burr hole surgery. In this surgical operation, a bone flap is temporarily removed from the skull to access the brain.

“The surgery lasted about three and a half hours, during which we opened part of his skull to remove the lodged key,” said Dr. Markad.

The victim has since recovered and is doing fine. He was discharged on April 21 evening, and is expected for a follow-up check this week,” added Dr. Markad.