In a rare and remarkable medical achievement, Amrita Hospital, Kochi, successfully restored the vision of a higher secondary student from Palakkad after a serious eye injury caused by a tree branch piercing through his left eye.

The incident occurred last Tuesday evening when the student was playing, a friend accidentally threw a tree branch that struck the student’s left eye. The branch, measuring approximately 9.5 cm in length and 1.4 cm in width, entered at the edge of his left eye, pierced through the nasal bridge, and extended dangerously close to the inner edge of the right eye.

Initially, the student received treatment at private hospitals in Palakkad and Thrissur. However, the embedded foreign object could not be safely removed at these facilities, leading to his urgent transfer to Amrita Hospital, Kochi.

At Amrita, a multidisciplinary team of specialists swiftly undertook a complex emergency surgery lasting around two hours. The procedure demanded exceptional precision due to the branch’s proximity to the eye’s optic nerve. The surgical team, led by Dr. Suchitra Haridas, Professor of Ophthalmology and Oculoplastic Surgeon, and Dr. Renuka Balu, Associate Professor in ENT, worked alongside Dr. Praveen Shyam from Pediatric Ophthalmology, Dr. Arun Balaji, Senior Resident in ENT, Dr. Remya from Anesthesiology, and Dr. Diana S. from Ophthalmology.

Dr. Suchitra Haridas and Dr. Renuka Balu emphasized the rarity of such an injury, describing the deep and extensive penetration of the foreign object as an extraordinary case requiring expert intervention.

The student’s family expressed profound relief and gratitude for the successful outcome. They described the timely and expert care at Amrita Hospital as a blessing, saving their child from potential permanent blindness. The student is now recovering steadily and looks forward to returning to his studies, thankful for the care and compassion shown by the medical team.