Multidisciplinary emergency treatment saved the life of an 18-year-old man with a metal bar penetrated from his neck to brain.

26/07/2021 11:11

On July 5^th, L.V.D, a native of Son La, was admitted to Viet Duc University Hospital (VDUH).  An 1m long by 1cm diameter metal bar penetrating him from the back of the neck through the occipital bone, passing the cerebellum.

 

 

L.V.D is a Thai ethnic person, working as a freelancer in Hanoi. At 9:30 am on July 5^th, while working at a construction site, Mr. D fell from the 5^th floor down to the 4^th floor, landing on said bar. At the time of the accident, the patient did not wear a protective helmet.

 

 

The patient was brought to the hospital in a state of lethargy. The doctors on duty at VDUH conducted an urgent emergency care with multi-disciplinary coordination evaluation including neurosurgery, spine surgery, cardiovascular surgery, anesthesiology. Because the foreign body still stayed in the wound, it was not possible to perform a CT scan, the surgeons completely relied on clinical examination and X-ray, the most basic diagnostic methods, to assess and decide the treatment for patient.

 

Surgery was carried out timely with the coordination of a multidisciplinary team. During the operation, the surgeons meticulously revealed the entire passage the foreign body created and preserved the vessels, nerves and surrounding brain structures. Due to careful preparation combined with high level of expertise, modern equipment, quick coordination of multidisciplinary team, the operation went smoothly.

 

 

Tran Dinh Van, MD, MS, Department of Neurosurgery 1, VDUH shared: Multidisciplinary medical care on emergency is always the strength of VDUH, one of the leading surgical hospitals of Viet Nam. The surgeons were very skillful and focused throughout the operation because of the dangerous location of the metal bar, nearby the large blood vessels such as the internal carotid artery, the vertebral artery, the large venous sinus in the brain, the cerebellum and the medulla oblongata, that was responsible for circulatory and respiration functions. The surgery was finished successfully after 3 hours. Currently, the patient has been brought back to the ward. He is fully conscious, self – breathing, no fever, no paralysis and the wound is good. He continues to be monitored and treated in the ward. .