Docs remove 5.5-ft shaft from man’s body

“The operation was extremely complicated. It was quite difficult to administer anesthesia to the patient as he could not even sit. We started the treatment at 9:30 am and the operation started at 11:55 am. We came out of the OT at 1:30 pm. The patient is at present admitted at the Intensive Thoracic Unit (ITU) and we will be observing him for the next few days. He is stable now and we hope his health does not deteriorate,” said Mrityunjay Mukherjee,head of the general surgery department.

The shaft,which was part of the lorry,had penetrated Ali’s right arm,chest and then came out from behind his back. Ali,who was accompanied by his cousin,is a resident of Arambagh and met with the accident at Shiakhala in Hooghly around 6:30 am. The lorry hit the windscreen of his car and the steel shaft rammed into his arm,injuring his lungs and breaking two of its lobes.

“Locals rushed my cousin to the nearby hospital,where he was referred to the CMCH. He has always been courageous and could make a three-hour journey to the city hospital in an ambulance,” Ali’s cousin said.

Ali was operated on by a seven-member team of doctors led by Mukherjee. “We had to administer anesthesia in a semi-sitting state and closely monitor his heart beat,pulse rate and blood overflow during our operation,” Mukherjee said.