Shillong, June 13: An 11-year-old boy has got a new shot at life after doctors at the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health & Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) successfully removed a 3-foot long iron rod from his chest.

The boy from the Jaintia Hills reported to the casualty with a history of fall landing his chest on the rod. The child was impaled with this rod puncturing his right chest, which had traversed behind the right collar bone to end behind at the nape of the neck.

A CT scan revealed the penetration course of the iron rod grazing the great vessels and nerves supplying the right upper limb.

In view of the risk to the blood supply of the right upper limb which would result in its amputation, a decision for emergent removal of the rod was taken and a team of doctors are constituted.

The right chest was opened, explored and the rod extracted with controlled manipulation to minimize injury to the great vessels and nerves supplying right upper limb which were inspected and control of bleeding was done.

The patient was anesthetized by Dr. Kaustuv Dutta and Dr. Sonia Nahakpam and surgery was conducted by the cardiothoracic team led by Dr. Reuben Lamiaki Kynta, Dr. Dathia Tongper, Dr Biman Chandra Sinha and Dr. L Janendro Singh.

The patient has made a smooth recovery with the restoration of full function and mobility of his right upper limb.

Through the press statement, Dr. Reuben advised the people that in any case of impalements or stabs due to foreign bodies, an attempt to remove the object should not be attempted and the patient should be transported to a medical facility as soon as possible.