FEDERAL MEDICAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE OF SURGEONS ON CALL SAVED A LIFE AT ABOUT 10:30PM YESTERDAY

This is a 35yrs old Bricklayer who accidentally fell off from a Storey building while at work and landed with the left lateral anterior Neck, on a hammer 🔨 standing on the ground with the handle facing upwards. This pierced via the anterior and exited on the posterior. However, as God may have it, he was *not in any respiratory distress* and *vitals are relatively stable on presentation*

Being the *Senior Registrar on call in Ear, Nose and Throat and Head and Neck Surgeon*, I called out my 2 ENT Consultants, quickly raised alarm and invited the Vascular Surgeons, Burns and plastic, Traumatologist / Spine Surgeons, Anaesthetist, & Theatre Peri-op Nurses informed to get set..!!

Necessary urgent Investigations were done, thanks to our Med. Laboratory Scientist Friends, who acted promptly as the urgency demands, gave us 4 units of screened / cross matched blood and provided the results needed as fast as possible.

… Within a short while, all the invited Surgeons storm the Casualty, we quickly wheeled the patient to the theatre and Neck Exploration with foreign body removal was done.

…Miraculous intra-Op Findings: The hammer neatly passed *medial* to the Carotid vessel and IJV and *lateral* to the Oesophagus, Trachea and the Vertebral column.🤷‍♂

… Patient was later transferred to the ICU by the Anaesthetist for observation.

… Early this morning when checked, Patient is doing very well, vitals are still stable.

To God be the glory🙏

*Dr. Ibekwe Nnaemeka*
*(SR ENT, FMC Owerri Reporting)*