Punnavila Kizhakkathil Rajan of Thekkekara near Mavelikkara, a woodcutter, sustained the injury after a fall from a tree in November.Kottayam: In a commendable effort, the doctors at the Kottayam Medical College Hospital have restored the vision of a 50-year-old man who suffered a traumatic eye injury after a piece of twig entered his brain through the right eyelid in an accident.
Punnavila Kizhakkathil Rajan of Thekkekara near Mavelikkara, a woodcutter, sustained the injury after a fall from a tree on November 5. A twig having a length of around 15 centimeters pierced through the right eyelid and got lodged in the brain. About 5 centimeters of the sharp object perforated his right eye socket, puncturing the arteries.
Though the seven-hour-long extremely complicated surgery performed by a team of doctors from the departments of neurosurgery, ophthalmology, and anesthesia was successful, the prospect of restoring his vision was bleak as there was serious damages to the central retinal artery.
The surgeons, led by Dr P K Balakrishnan, head of neurosurgery, repaired the injured vessel and soft tissues, but they were not very confident of reviving the patient’s eyesight.
However, 10 days after the surgery when the doctors assessed the progress in the injured eye, he positively responded to light stimulation, giving confidence to the doctors.
After one month’s treatment, there had been noticeable improvement in Rajan’s eyesight but he had difficulties to see fine details.
The doctor’s tested his eyesight on Friday and confirmed that he has fully regained the vision of his injured eye.
Though he got back his vision, Rajan is not able to lift the eyelids completely as his right eye has shrunk due to the damage suffered to the retinal artery during the accident. According to doctors, it will take some more time for the eyelids to return to a normal appearance.
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