50 year old patient survives bullet injuries in skull

Brain Braved bullet, Thanks to Apollo Surgeon

New Delhi, March 26: Think of a bullet crashing through the skull and vandalizing inside the brain.

And what follows is a seemingly bizarre successful surgery at Indraprasth Apollo. Lo and behold! The 50 year old man has survived the dangerous bullet graze inside his brain.

The surgeon and the art of surgery really got a shot in the arm. It was an exceptional brain surgery of 50 years old man who sustained a gunshot injury to his head leading to extensive brain injury.

Kanpur based Hakim Singh is a katha-vachak by profession who was injured of  air-firing  a Shri during Madbhagwat katha-vachan at Jhansi. He was admitted to Indraprastha Apollo Hospital on 11th January 2015 in a critical state.  The bullet/pellet had entered the head through one side and exited through the other side.

The CT scan of head revealed extensive brain injury with depressed fracture in frontal region as the bone was broken at multiple places. The damage to the brain was severe as the right frontal lobe had multiple pieces of bone lying inside it along with numerous cerebral contusions.

In a complex surgery that lasted five hours, Dr Pranav Kumar, Senior Consultant, Neurology removed the bone pieces lying inside the brain and treated the cerebral contusions. Repair of brain living membrane was carried out to repair dural tear.

‘The patient had a long (about 13 mm) linear tear in the superior sagittal sinus which is the principal drainage channel of brain which caused heavy bleeding. The tear was repaired through surgery and four units of blood transfusion were given to the patient during & after the surgery to make up for the intense blood loss. A tracheostomy was also carried out to allow direct access to the breathing tube.’ Said Dr Pranav Kumar

He added ‘We kept the patient under intensive care and on anticonvulsant and other supportive medications. After 3 weeks of therapy and treatment, the patient was discharged from the hospital. His speech is close to normal with normal cognitive abilities and movement.’