Doctor operates on driver at crash site

Published Mar 11, 2015

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Durban - A Durban man who was trapped in his mangled car for more than three hours with metal stuck in his abdomen is “lucky to be alive”, according to the surgeon who was flown to the site to free him.

The 30-year-old driver, who has not been named, had crashed into a pole in Umgeni Road on Saturday.

He underwent orthopaedic surgery at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Hospital on Tuesday night and is said to be doing well.

Dr Mike Faurie, a trauma surgeon and a trainee specialist surgeon – who helped free the man with a team of paramedics and firefighters – has been praised by KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo for saving the man’s life.

The 37-year-old doctor was flown to the crash scene by helicopter to perform emergency surgery on the patient.

A piece of metal had pierced the man’s abdomen.

“In terms of actual surgery, I’ve never done something like this before, not on the roadside,” Faurie said yesterday.

“When I arrived, I noticed that he had a piece of metal that had pierced the abdominal skin. Fortunately, it had gone through the skin and the soft tissue and did not enter the abdominal cavity.

“I gave him some local anaesthetic around the penetration of the metal and pain control so he was able to breathe for himself,” said Faurie, a Westville Boys’ High School old boy.

He said experience gained helping crash victims while doing his community service, had helped him with the operation.

“He is lucky to be alive, he was very seriously injured. It’s thanks to the good job of the paramedics and the fire department, a good team effort overall, that resulted in a positive outcome for this patient,” Faurie said.

The on-scene surgery took about 10 minutes. A further 15 minutes were needed to free the driver because his legs were still trapped in the car.

Dhlomo hailed the rescue team.

“This could not have been possible if it were not for the team effort of our health practitioners as well as the high level of competence by our surgeon. Thanks to them, the man is alive and recuperating well in hospital,” he said.

Daily News

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