Chinese Man Unaware of Nail Lodged in His Own Brain

A 55-year-old man in China had an eight cm-long nail pierce his eye socket and enter his brain without his knowledge while working on a home improvement project. Unaware that the nail was implanted in his cranium, Mr. Yang continued to work, thinking perhaps he had dust in his eye. 

The next day, his eye became swollen and he felt sick. He hurried to the Nanjing Hospital of Ophthalmology. A CT scan revealed that the nail had penetrated his eye socket and was stuck in his skull.

“The nail that got stuck in the cutting machine flew out when I turned on the machine. It ripped into my head and left a small hole on the skin,” said Yang from Jiangsu province. Neurosurgeons at the hospital operated on Yang to remove the nail. Doctors said that he was exceedingly fortunate not to have any severe damage to his eyesight and brain function.

According to the Shanghaiist, this story is reminiscent of a man in Chengdu province who endured a chopstick lodged in his cranium for nine months without realizing it.