Doctors at Fortis Escorts perform life-saving surgery to remove 30 cm fan blade from skull of 2-year-old boy

The child sustained a penetrating head injury from the 30 cm long fan blade which pierced his head and up to 3 cm into his brain. The team of doctors led by Dr Nitish Agarwal, Consultant, Neurosurgery, Fortis Escorts Hospital Faridabad successfully conducted the procedure and removed the fan blade through a 3-hour long complex surgery.

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“Upon admission at the hospital, the child was in a conscious state and cerebrospinal fluid (a clear, colourless, watery fluid that flows in and around the brain and spinal cord) was leaking from his wound. The doctors performed a left frontal craniotomy (surgical removal of part of the bone from the skull to expose the brain) and removed the fan blade.

Post-surgery, the child was shifted to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and later shifted to the ward. He was kept on intravenous antibiotics for 7 days to prevent any infection,” the statement issued by the Hospital said.

According to Dr Nitish Agarwal, Consultant-Neurosurgery, Fortis Escorts Hospital Faridabad, “The fan blade had pierced the left side of the child’s brain and thus there was a serious concern that his speech might get affected. Also, there were chances of bleeding and hematoma (clot) formation in the brain as well as a risk of infection due to the foreign body presence inside the brain.

We assessed all these challenges and carefully conducted the surgery to extract the fan blade by drilling the bone circumferentially around the blade, avoiding any manipulation of the blade. If the blade was not removed from the baby’s brain on time, it would have led to further injury to the brain, affecting his speech along with high risk of severe infection like meningitis and ventriculitis.”

“This was a very challenging case, considering the age and critical condition of the patient. However, the correct treatment and immediate medical intervention by the team of doctors led by Dr Nitish Agarwal saved the baby’s life,” said Dr Ajay Dogra, Facility Director, Fortis Escorts Hospital, Faridabad.