Man Impaled on Metal Rod Saved by Hadassah Surgeons

Surgeons at Hadassah Medical Center at Ein Kerem have saved the life of a man who had fallen from a second story onto an iron rod which penetrated through his head, The Jerusalem Post reported.

When Kamel Abdel Rahman, 46, arrived at the hospital at the time of the accident four weeks ago, his survival was in doubt, even though he was conscious and not in pain.

“I was conscious and I did not feel any pain at all. I do not know how to explain it,” he said.

Dr. Samuel Moscovici, a senior member of the Neurosurgery Department recounted:

“When I got to the trauma room, I saw a man with an iron rod though his head – it just went through, one side to the other. After we ensured the patient was breathing, we conducted various imaging tests to find out where the rod was positioned, what it had hit and whether it could be removed.”

The imaging tests showed that the rod had entered between the two important arteries that supply blood to the brain but without damaging them.

The removal of the object was necessary to save his life, however, despite the risk in doing so, if an artery were ruptured in the process.

That operation, as well as a second one, appeared to be successful, but uncertainties remained.

“After surgery we were optimistic, but we did not know the level of injury or how the patient would wake up,” Moscovici said.

But when he woke up, he was able to resume a normal life.

“You could certainly say he was the patient that every surgeon dreams about,” Moscovici said.

Last week, he was released from the hospital.

“I have no words,” Rahman told the Post. “They saved my ability to speak and walk. They saved my life.”