The child sustained a penetrating head injury from the 30-cm-long fan blade. (Representational)
A two-year-old boy who suffered a head injury after a fan fell on him and its blade pierced three cm into his skull was successfully operated upon at a private hospital in Faridabad.
The accident occurred when the child was playing near the running "farrata" fan, according to a hospital statement.
The child sustained a penetrating head injury from the 30-cm-long fan blade which pierced into his skull up to three cm, the hospital said.
A team of doctors led by Nitish Agarwal, Consultant, Neurosurgery, Fortis Escorts Hospital Faridabad, successfully conducted the procedure and removed the fan blade through a three-hour-long complex surgery, the statement said.
Upon admission at the hospital on February 17, 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, the statement stated.
Post-surgery, the child was shifted to the paediatric intensive care unit and later shifted to the ward. He was kept on intravenous antibiotics for seven days to prevent any infection.
Dr Agarwal said that 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," he said.
Dr Ajay Dogra, Facility Director, Fortis Escorts Hospital, Faridabad, said, "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 saved the baby's life.
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