harb
05-20-2009, 10:45 AM
What a fantastic story...!
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Household drill saves boy's life
(see http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8058771.stm)
A doctor in Australia used a household drill to bore into a boy's skull and drain it of blood clots as his local hospital lacked the required tools.
Dr Rob Carson performed the procedure on Nicholas Rossi, 13, after the boy fell off his bike and hit his head.
The doctor had never attempted the surgery before, and had to be talked through the operation by a Melbourne neurosurgeon.
The boy's father said the doctor's improvisation had saved his son's life.
But Dr Carson told reporters: "It's not a personal achievement, it is just a part of the job."
One chance
Immediately after his fall, Nicholas Rossi appeared stable.
But his mother, a nurse, noticed a bump on his head and decided to take him to the local hospital.
By the time he got there, Nicholas was slipping in and out of consciousness.
"Dr Carson came over to us and said, 'I am going to have to drill into [Nicholas] to relieve the pressure on the brain - we've got one shot at this and one shot only,"' the boy's father, Michael Rossi told journalists.
The small hospital had no special tools, so the team had to use a household drill.
Dr Carson called the neurosurgeon who talked him through the procedure by telling him where to aim the drill and how deep to go.
After the surgery, Nicholas Rossi was airlifted to a larger hospital in Melbourne and released on Tuesday - his 13th birthday.
-------------------------
Household drill saves boy's life
(see http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8058771.stm)
A doctor in Australia used a household drill to bore into a boy's skull and drain it of blood clots as his local hospital lacked the required tools.
Dr Rob Carson performed the procedure on Nicholas Rossi, 13, after the boy fell off his bike and hit his head.
The doctor had never attempted the surgery before, and had to be talked through the operation by a Melbourne neurosurgeon.
The boy's father said the doctor's improvisation had saved his son's life.
But Dr Carson told reporters: "It's not a personal achievement, it is just a part of the job."
One chance
Immediately after his fall, Nicholas Rossi appeared stable.
But his mother, a nurse, noticed a bump on his head and decided to take him to the local hospital.
By the time he got there, Nicholas was slipping in and out of consciousness.
"Dr Carson came over to us and said, 'I am going to have to drill into [Nicholas] to relieve the pressure on the brain - we've got one shot at this and one shot only,"' the boy's father, Michael Rossi told journalists.
The small hospital had no special tools, so the team had to use a household drill.
Dr Carson called the neurosurgeon who talked him through the procedure by telling him where to aim the drill and how deep to go.
After the surgery, Nicholas Rossi was airlifted to a larger hospital in Melbourne and released on Tuesday - his 13th birthday.