Man survives after iron rod pierces body in UP

Gopal, who was brought in as a destitute patient, required ventilator support right after surgery, said the doctor.

Gopal, driver of a small commercial vehicle, had a thick iron rod pierce through his body when he met with an accident at Mohan Road on Thursday. Fortunately for him, the police personnel who reached the accident site, cut the rod and rushed him to the KGMU trauma centre where timely treatment saved his life.

The police personnel who reached the accident site, cut the rod and rushed him to the KGMU trauma centre where timely treatment saved his life.(Representative)

“Today, he is better and can eat and walk himself,” said Dr Samir Misra, senior faculty member, trauma surgery, KGMU, while presenting three complex cases treated by the department during a press conference here on Tuesday.

Gopal, who was brought in as a destitute patient, required ventilator support right after surgery, said the doctor. “But none of the units were free, so, the staff kept him on an ambu bag (manual resuscitator). Nurses, ward boys and even doctors operated the ambu bag for 12 hours before a ventilator was available. The device helped him breath artificially,” he said.

Prof Sandip Tiwari, head, trauma surgery, said that Gopal would “walk back to a normal life within a few days”.

Doctors said that in cases of trauma injury, timely action and reaching a quality medical care centre was the key. The trauma surgery department of the King George’s Medical University handled three cases of severe injuries in March 2019 itself.

The second case shared during the press conference was that of a government doctor in Rai Bareli who was shot at in his chest. “He was first taken to a private hospital in Lucknow, then referred to the trauma centre. In his case, we decided not to take out the bullet that was stuck near the spine,” said Dr Yadvendra, another faculty member of the trauma surgery department.

The third case presented was that of a jeweller who was shot at on March 2. “This too was a difficult case in which proper time management saved the patient’s life,” said Dr Misra.

Doctors said that in case of accidents, particularly severe ones where foreign objects entered the body, the patient had to be attended to immediately and taken to an appropriate medical care centre at the earliest.