Piece of knife lodged just 0.5 cm from man’s heart removed at KGMU

A 28-year-old patient, Chota from Gorakhpur, has got a new lease of life after sustaining a stab injury, not only due to a successful surgery but by sheer luck, doctors at King George’s Medical University (KGMU) said after a piece of knife was removed from his chest during a second surgery.

Earlier, after a 13-cm knife was surgically removed from his chest at a Gorakhpur hospital, a post-operative X-ray report revealed that that the patient still had a shard of metal lodged just 0.5 cm away from his heart.

The patient was stabbed during a scuffle in Gorakhpur and he underwent a surgery at the BRD Medical College. However, after an X-ray report showed that a shard of metal was still lodged dangerously close to his heart, the patient was referred to KGMU in Lucknow, where he arrived on April 17.

The doctors performed a minimally invasive video-assisted thoracoscopic (VAT) surgery with a tool that allows the surgeon to view the surgical field without exposing the chest cavity. Doctors who performed the surgery said that although the patient’s heart was unharmed, the lungs took some damage due to the piece of metal. The lungs were also repaired after the piece of knife was removed.

“The fact that the piece of knife was just 0.5 cm away from the heart made this surgery very complicated and risky. Opinions of experts from cardiac surgery, thoracic surgery, vascular surgery and cardiology were taken for the procedure,” said trauma surgeon Dr Samir Misra.

“The patient is recovering fast and we have kept him under observation as a precautionary measure,” said Dr Anita Singh, who was also part of the surgical team along with Dr Sandip Tiwari.

Dr Ramvit Dwivedi and Dr Tahir took care of all the primary investigations and preparations ahead of the operation. “It is sheer luck that the piece of metal did not puncture his heart in a week though it was just 0.5 cm away from the vital organ,” said KGMU’s media cell head Dr KK Singh said.