A man who was skewered through the neck by a falling tree branch is expected to make a full recovery.
Xiao Yi was labouring on a construction site when the piece of wood, about 3cm thick, fell from a great height.
The branch penetrated the left side of his neck, plunging around 12cm into his chest cavity.
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But incredibly, it avoided all of his major organs and blood vessels.
Xiao was taken to Tangdu Hospital in Xi’an, China, for emergency treatment.
X-ray images showed the branch was resting close to the patient’s left brachiocephalic vein – a major vein in the chest that helps to return deoxygenated blood from the head, neck, and upper limbs to the heart.
It also nearly severed the superior vena cava at the top of the heart.
The medical team quickly developed a plan to remove the foreign body and clean the debris left on the surface of the wound.
It was a complicated procedure as it involved important chest tissues, organs and large blood vessels, as reported by Need To Know.
After several hours, the team successfully removed the foreign body and cleaned the wound.
Doctors said it was remarkable that the shot avoided major arteries and left behind “zero blood vessel damage”.
A hospital spokesperson said: “The branch posed a risk, but fortunately it avoided all major blood vessels, allowing the patient to escape death.
“He was so lucky.”
The patient was monitored in the intensive care unit for 24 hours after the operation.
He was then moved to a general ward after his vital signs stabilised.
He was discharged from the hospital a couple of days later to continue recuperating at home.
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The tree branch after it being removed from Xiao Yis neck. (Jam Press/Tangdu Hospital)
The tree branch after it being removed from Xiao Yi’s neck. (Jam Press/Tangdu Hospital)
