Doctors have removed a piece of a woman’s skull after she apparently deliberately drove a 2.3-inch nail into her head and did not tell anyone for days.
The shocking case of apparent self-harm happened during a “neurological episode” – and she did not tell her family for days.
The patient now at the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University in north-eastern China’s Heilongjiang Province has been identified as 40-year-old Ms He.
Neurosurgeon Wang Ning said: “By the time she arrived, the nail had already been in her head for several days. It was the result of a neurological episode.
“The flesh around the nail began to fester after a few days. Only then did she tell her family, who brought her to hospital.”
Doctors who rushed her into surgery chose not to yank the nail out – in case she began bleeding in her brain.
Doctor Wang added: “After removing her scalp during surgery, we chose not to pull the nail out. Were she to suffer from intracranial haemorrhaging, we would’ve had no chance to save her.”
Instead, medics removed a piece of her skull measuring 1.18 by 1.57 inches. They then removed the nail measuring 2.3 inches before piecing the bone back into the gap in her skull.
The operation was a resounding success and Ms He is on course to make a full recovery.
Doctor Wang said: “She’s very lucky. She’s recovering well and there are no after effects.”
“In my 30 years as a doctor, I have never seen a case like this,” he added.
To find out more about the author, editor or agency that supplied this story – please click below.
Story By: Scott Feng, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: AsiaWire
