Man nails heart in carpentry mishap
by
Australia- Surgeons removed a 7.5cm nail from a carpenter's heart today after
he accidentally shot himself with a nail gun.
The 37-year-old, who was building a shed on his property at Canungra in the
Gold Coast hinterland, drove himself about 400m for help before lapsing into
semi-consciousness.
His wife called the Queensland Ambulance Service just before 9am (AEST).
Emergency Specialist David Cooksley, of the CareFlight helicopter service,
said the nail went through the man's aorta - the largest artery in the body.
"He was bleeding into the sac around the heart and that was squashing his
heart," Dr Cooksley said.
"He needed to get to cardiac surgery as quickly as possible."
The man was flown to the John Flynn Hospital on the Gold Coast where surgeons
operated to remove the nail.
He was reported to be in a stable condition in the hospital's intensive care
unit.
"He's actually doing very well, I believe," Dr Cooksley said.
"He's extremely lucky. He should go and buy a lottery ticket."
Dr Cooksley said the CareFlight helicopter service had the man in hospital
within 20 minutes of arriving at the scene.
He said the time factor and the man's extreme fitness had probably saved his
life.
