A WOMAN was impaled by a 2ft long rusty metal pole sticking out of the ground, after slipping and falling in a field.
Eye-popping scans reveal how the rod pierced through her backside into her abdomen, after she fell on it bum-first.
sciencedirectThe metal pole pierced through the woman’s anal canal and extended into the space behind the peritoneum, the lining that covers the abdominal organs[/caption]
sciencedirectThe metal pole was rusted and coated in cow dung[/caption]
sciencedirectMiraculously, no major organs were pierced[/caption]
Miraculously, the rusty, manure-coated pole didn’t pierce any major organs and the 65-year-old woman lived to tell her tale after undergoing emergency surgery to have it removed.
But she still needed a tetanus shot and antibiotics to stave off an infection.
Doctors in Manipal, India said this rare case of impalement through the bottom was rendered even rarer by the fact that it left no severe, lasting damage.
The horrifying episode was detailed by doctors in a paper published to the International Journal of Surgery Case Reports.
It all transpired on dark and rainy morning, when the 65-year-old was out grazing her cows – as she did every day around 6am.
The woman explained: “We have a wide field near our house, and we plant these iron rods on the ground to support the creepers.
“That day when I went out, it was still dark and raining. I took my cow out for grazing, and I had wrapped the rope around my wrist.
“I don’t know why that cow got agitated and it started pulling me with force.
“Me being an old lady, I lost my balance and sat on my buttocks right on top of one of those rods. It happened all of sudden, and It didn’t give me time to realise.
“I was in a lot of pain, and I started screaming. I slowly got up by myself, but I couldn’t walk. My family heard my screams, and they came running.
“They couldn’t believe what had happened. All were in shock and confused.”
Still skewered by the rod, she was later taken to a nearby hospital by her neighbour, where she was given painkillers and antibiotics.
The doctor on shift told her not to touch the rod and an ambulance transported the 65-year-old to a larger hospital, where she was seen by doctors from Kasturba Medical College.
By this point, the pole had been in her for two hours.
Scans were carried out immediately, revealing that the “metallic foreign body” had torn through her anal canal and rectum with its tip just “under surface of the left kidney”.
Thy also showed that the rod had bypassed her ureter – the tube that carries pee from the kidney to the bladder – and major arteries carrying blood to the woman’s legs and feet.
‘Peculiar’ case
She was prepped for emergency surgery, with doctors explaining that she may temporarily need to use a colostomy bag afterwards – a pouch that collects poo through an opening in the stomach, used in the event of an injury or problem with the digestive system.
During surgery, doctors found that the metal pole had torn through the woman’s abdomen but hadn’t perforated any major organs.
They “lubricated” the rod to easily slide it out, pulling it out through her anal canal.
The entire operation took two hours.
The woman was given antibiotics post-surgery as well as physiotherapy and discharged after 10 days, receiving regular monthly follow-ups.
“After surgery I was having a bit of pain and nausea, but it got better,” the patient recalled.
“They made me walk on the next day, and slowly I could drink water and eat small portions.”
Another scan was performed after three months and to check that the repair to the woman’s rectum had healed completely and she was able to have the stoma procedure reversed.
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“After the reversal surgery now, I feel much better,” the 65-year-old said.
“I am grateful to all the doctors and nurses who took such good care of me.”
The report authors concluded: “Our case was unique due to peculiarity of the mode of injury, the object perforated the rectum and directly entered the retroperitoneum, due to which all the major viscera and vascular structures were unharmed.
“Although the iron rod was rusted, covered with mud and cow dung, we were able to manage with antibiotic coverage as well as immunisation with tetanus toxoid due to which patient did not have any signs of sepsis post operatively including tetanus or clostridia infection.”
They said most reported cases of impalement happen due to “accidental injuries by falling on the objects or sexual related activity”, they added.
It’s not the first time a person has narrowly escaped death after being skewered by a metal pole.
A 57-year-old man who slipped and fell from scaffolding, dropping 16.5ft onto a 3ft pole that pierced his perineum before shooting through his abdomen and chest, miraculously survived the ordeal.
sciencedirectThe 65-year-old woman was taking her cows out for grazing when she tripped and sat on a rod poking out of the ground[/caption]