The Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research recently performed a risky surgery to remove a vegetable cutter (aruvamanai) from the diaphragm of a 15-year-old boy.
The surgery was performed by the Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery and the boy has recovered, a release said.
According to the release, the boy was playing on a tree and jumped on to a tiled roof, which collapsed. He fell on his back on the vegetable cutter. The cutter entered below the diaphragm on the left hand side between the IX and X ribs and was moving with each heartbeat.
The patient was resuscitated and an X-ray was done to locate the blade. He then underwent an emergency surgery. The cutter had damaged the left lung and entered the outer layer of the heart and damaged the main artery of the lung and aorta.
For a while, the boy could not eat and had a feeding tube through his small intestine. He was kept under observation in the ICU and discharged once the tube was removed. Now the boy is on a regular diet and has resumed his normal activities, the release said.