Doctors save man impaled by bamboo piece passing too close to his heart

Doctors save man impaled by bamboo piece passing too close to his heart

Sagaya Fernando

Mumbai: 8 June 2019

A 38-year-old man who got impaled by a 2 feet long bamboo piece (a part of a ladder) – piercing through his stomach and almost passing close to the aorta – is lucky to be alive due to timely medical attention.

Panchanana Pradhan, a daily wager, on June 2 late evening was painting the outer walls of a house in his village Lastala (in Odisha state of India), mounting on a bamboo ladder. While standing at a height of 7 feet, the ladder rungs (also made of bamboo pieces and nailed together) suddenly gave away and Panchanana came tumbling down with such force that one of the bamboo rungs pierced through his body.

The badly injured and bleeding man was rushed to Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences & Research (VIMSaR) Hospital at Burla town about 37 kms away. After giving primary aid, the doctors there referred him to a better equipped Srirama Chandra Bhanj (SCB) Medical College & Hospital at Cuttack (a further 274 kms away).

“Doctors at VIMSaR did a CT scan of Panchanana’s abdomen and cut short the bamboo piece protruding out of the body. The CT scan report revealed entry of bamboo stick from right to left upper abdomen piercing the diaphragm on the left side into the thorax. Suspecting heart and lung injury, he was referred to our hospital where we have cardiothoracic and vascular surgery (CTVS) facility,” informed surgeon Dr Srikanta Panda who led the medical team that conducted surgery on the wounded Panchanana.

He added, “The patient was transported by ambulance to reach SCB MCH at 6:30 am on June 3. The patient was having breathlessness, pain in the abdomen, but with stable vital signs. After initial investigations, with CTVS consultation and we arranged 4 units of blood, and the patient was operated under general anesthesia in emergency OT at 12 noon. After opening the abdomen almost a liter of blood bled out, and the bamboo stick was found palpated. The stick was trussed from right partial wall to left upper abdomen piercing the left hemi diaphragm, reaching the left chest cavity.”

“Luckily for the patient, the bamboo piece passed behind the stomach, pancreas and in front of aorta and the inferior vena cava (or IVC) which is a large vein that carries the deoxygenated blood from the lower and middle body into the right atrium of the heart,” stressed Dr Panda.

“The stomach was lacerated probably by an iron nail projection from the bamboo stick. The bamboo stick was extracted gently with precision. The visceral injuries were repaired, intercostal chest tube drainage was given. Abdomen was closed after peritoneal toileting and tube drainage. The primary entry wound was left open. Two units of blood was transfused during the surgery which took about 4 hours. The patient was shifted to ICU for post-surgery treatment and observation, where he is doing well till today. He will be discharged soon,” informed Dr Panda.

Dr Panda was assisted by Dr Ranjit Behera, Dr Sashikanta Behera and Dr Alekha Nayak

(anesthetist).

News Published in Daily Mail
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7121129/Decorator-38-impaled-2ft-long-bamboo-pole-passed-close-heart-India.html?fbclid=IwAR3ugnPIGb6VRXHMdM6xVj2jazZFRNrnNQ2Qwun9KxUq9XlfpBagwPHi_eI

https://en.mogaznews.com/World-News/1224421/Decorator-38-impaled-by-a-2ft-long-bamboo-pole-that-passed-close-to-his-heart-.html

https://whatsnew2day.com/decorator-38-impaled-by-a-2ft-long-bamboo-pole-that-passed-close-to-his-heart-in-india