A drunk man nearly lost his eye after a pan handle got buried four inches deep in his face when he slipped in his kitchen.
The horrific accident occurred in Karlsruhe in the south-western German state of Baden-Württemberg, when the 64-year-old was looking for some kitchen utensils after drinking too much alcohol.
He learnt a harsh lesson about cooking while drunk after he stumbled, lost his balance and fell forward towards the kitchen counter, where he pierced his eye socket with a looped metal pan handle.
An operation lasting several hours was undertaken to remove the pan handle, which was stuck in the eye socket of a man. He had slipped and fallen while drunk
This diagnostic picture shows the pan handle buried four inches deep in his face
Despite the pan sticking out of his eye and his severe injuries, the man somehow still managed to call the emergency services.
He was rushed by air ambulance in a critical condition to hospital, with the pan handle rammed four inches deep into his eye socket.
A team of doctors consisting of Dr Carla Sander, Dr Ali Kurt, Prof Anton Dunsche and Dr Taha Tolga Sonmez performed emergency surgery lasting several hours on the man.
Despite the gruesome injury and his critical condition, they managed to both save both his life, and restore his vision in his right eye.
Dr Sander said that a detailed examination of his eye socket and skull showed that, ‘the cooking pan’s handle was positioned 10 centimetres in situ, coming from above, breaking through the right orbital rim [of the socket].’
Luckily for the patient, the pan handle was positioned in such a way that it entered his eye socket just below his right eyeball and completely missed his brain.
This picture shows the pan after it was removed from the man’s eye
The patient is shown here after surgery: despite his gruesome injury, and being rushed to hospital by air ambulance in a critical condition, the man’s vision was saved by surgeons
The operating team not only successfully managed to remove the pan handle but also saved the man’s sight.
Dr Sander said: ‘After waking up the patient, visual acuity [clarity of vision] was possible. There was no visual impairment.’
After seven days in hospital the man was well enough to return home – and to his kitchen.