- The rod entered his body through the groin, perforating his intestines, liver, abdomen and chest before coming out of the back.
- The man journeyed from Nashik to Mumbai in search of a hospital to remove it.
On March 8, while working on the first floor at a construction site, near Lasalgaon, Nashik, Salim Sheikh slipped and fell 9 feet below. Sheikh fell onto a pile of steel rods, one of which impaled him, entering his scrotum, traversing the entire length of his abdomen and chest to emerge above his right collar bone.
On March 9, a team of surgeons at the Sir J J Group Of Hospitals, Mumbai, undertook a daunting challenge, where they operated and surgically removed a 130cm steel rod which had accidentally impaled him.
His co-workers rushed him to Niphad PHC Niphad PHC. Then, Sheikh was immediately referred to Nashik civil hospital. After which, he was taken to Mumbai’s Sir JJ Group of Hospitals. Sheikh traversed 200km in over six hours in the ambulance, seething in pain to Mumbai.
On March 9, Sheikh reached at JJ Hospital and was immediately shifted for a CT scan to assess the trajectory of the rod inside his body. However, Sheikh’s vitals started dropping probably due to ongoing internal bleeding secondary to internal organ damage. After stabilizing his vital parameters, Sheikh was taken for an emergency surgery.
Speaking to My Medical Mantra, Dr Ajay Bhandarwar, a Professor and Head of Surgery Department in JJ Group of Hospitals said, “We laparoscopically and thoracoscopically assessed the degree of damage the impaled rod had done to the internal organs. The surgery lasted for 5 years. These incidents take place more at construction sites.”
Speaking to My Medical Mantra, Dr Amol Wagh, Advanced Laparoscopic Surgeon and Assistant Professor at Sir JJ Group of Hospitals said, “It was challenging. As in the abdomen, the rod had pierced through not only the small intestine, but also its mesentry, attachment containing the blood vessels supplying it. Damage was also found at the right side of the colon, finally passing through the liver. After the degree of damage was determined, the rod was dislodged under direct vision. Damage to the organs affected was repaired in the same sitting. The patient spent two days in the ICU. He has been shifted to the general ward and is stable now.”