Bengaluru doctors remove bullet from Yemeni man's head after 18 years: Report

The man got shot at age 10 and was rushed to a nearby hospital, however, doctors had only cleaned the wound and not taken the bullet out.

In a scientific miracle, doctors in Bengaluru removed a bullet that was stuck in the head of a 29-year-old Yemen national for nearly 18 years. The man had gotten injured when he came in the middle of a crossfire between two clashing groups in Yemen at the age of 10.

The Yemeni man was rendered deaf because of the bullet and had been suffering from recurring headaches and ear discharges. (Representative image)

The man is a father of two and is one among 10 siblings. He was severely injured from getting shot one afternoon as he was returning from a shop and was rushed to a nearby hospital, however, doctors only cleaned the wound and did not take the bullet out, The Times of India reported.

The Yemeni man was rendered deaf because of the bullet and had been suffering from recurring headaches and ear discharges, he told the publication. The bullet, around 3 centimetres long, had reportedly gone through his left ear and was lodged in the bone, causing ear infections because of pus accumulation. It was finally removed at a private hospital in Bengaluru last week.

The man was treated in Bengaluru's Aster Hospital, where doctors said it was a “daunting” surgery to remove the metal that was wedged so close to “vital vascular structures”. The man was at a high risk of major bleeding, one of the doctors told the publication.

The doctors reportedly carried out an x-ray to ascertain the exact position of the bullet and managed to separate from the surrounding tissues. The man did not suffer from any complications or bleeding, they said. The man's hearing was partially restored due to the surgery, the report added.