An 11-year old boy was recently reported to have impaled himself after accidentally falling off a tree. The said implement was caused by a stick that spans 5 centimeters long, struck right into his scrotum. The incident was recorded in Makassar, one of the cities in Indonesia.
The scrotum impalement of the child was due to him falling off a tree, just when one of its branches that supports him broke. The tree that the boy climbed has a length of 2 meters in height, which was obviously the right height enough for any pointed material to pierce through a falling human body.
Genitalia of a Kid Evaded and Impaled Stick
The injury of the child, according to a report by Daily Star, caused severe damage to his scrotum. The stick, however, projected just a few millimeters from his testicle organ, which did not affect the genitalia to be separated or detached from the whole system.
The medical experts assigned to the case were able to successfully take out the foreign object from the scrotum. The boy was given medical prescriptions for the safety of his organ after the operation. Before completing an entire month, the boy was healed and recovered from the damage incurred from the tree fall incident.
Experts have informed through Daily Mail that the boy's body was able to evade the piercing stick when he fell off the tree. According to the report, this was a fortunate event where the stick did not puncture any organs or even any vital arteries. The implement did not result in any other injuries to other parts of the child's body, and it was safe to say that the incident did not cause any issues that could have affected the boy's body and its organ in a long-term injury and did not require any intensified medication or other types of treatment.
The scrotum piercing case was examined, and its whole coverage was published in the journal Urology Case Reports, titled "Penetrating Scrotal Injury In Childhood." Based on the paper, the child was taken to a hospital a bit late after the accident, with an estimated time of 4 hours. During the operation, the experts were able to record the injuries and captured their initial appearance. The images presented in the study show that the bottom left of the scrotum was inflicted with damage that reached the pubic bone.
ALSO READ: Marine Mussels Improves Hydrogels' Adhesion, Stretchiness, Strength; Improves Use for Wounds Healing
What is Testicular Trauma?
The scrotum and the areas surrounding the organ were examined before the stick was taken out, and it was confirmed that the testicle was not severely affected. A Penrose drain was used to the wounded area for the experts to extract any excess materials and fluids that could have stayed on the area of injury. After a month of recovery with antitetanus and antibiotics, the experts confirmed that the boy had achieved full recovery from the incident.
The scrotal injury exhibited in this case is considered a testicular trauma, where the organs responsible for reproduction and hormones of a male individual are hurt by any force. According to the Urology Care Foundation, testicular trauma can manifest through the injuries applied to the testicle or scrotum.
Testicular trauma can harm the contents in the affected organs. Sudden blood loss can also occur if the tough protection of the testicle is shattered or wounded. Like any other muscular injuries, damages on the reproductive organ could be infected if not treated properly.
Testicular trauma has simple symptoms that are easy to distinguish. The Indonesian case published in the Urology Case Reports showed a symptom, which is a penetrating injury to the organ itself. Other indications to ask for medical assistance are bruising or swelling of the organ, difficulty urinating, experiencing fever after testicular injury, or blood on the urine.
Royal College of Surgeons urology expert Jonathan Glass, who was not part of the study, said that the boy is very fortunate that the stick pierced through his scrotum did not impact any vital organs. The expert told DailyMail that cases regarding injuries on the scrotum are extremely rare, and fortunately, did not incur and life-long consequences for the patient.
RELATED ARTICLE: Hair Loss Extremely Common During Summer: What Makes the Condition Seasonal, How Do We Deal With It?
Check out more news and information on Medicine and Health in Science Times.