Medical Must-See: Surgeons go out on a limb to save patient
Their patient was impaled on a tree branch through his perineum after falling four stories.
A young Japanese man is lucky to be alive after he was found impaled on a tree branch, from his perineum through to his thoracic dorsal region, after falling the equivalent of four stories.
The 21-year-old was found impaled on the still-standing tree, with emergency services cutting the branch and transporting him to hospital with the branch left in situ.
While he complained of dyspnoea, his vital signs and level of consciousness were normal, the surgeons from Dokkyo Medical University in Mibu, Tochigi reported.
No motor paralysis of the lower extremities was observed, and the only neurological deficit was sensory loss in the right gluteal and perineal regions.
