Indian man has metallic wire hanging out of his eye

A 23-year-old welder was left with a piece of metal hanging out of the corner of his eye after his tool burst.

The unnamed man, from India, avoided going blind – because the 3cm-long metallic wire narrowly missed his eye and burrowed into the skin.

Stunned ophthalmologists revealed the strange incident in the prestigious British Medical Journal (BMJ) Case Reports.

A 23-year-old musician was left with a piece of metal hanging out of the corner of his eye after his instrument snapped

The unnamed man, from India, avoided going blind – because the 3cm-long metallic wire narrowly missed his eye and burrowed into the skin

Gruesome pictures display the extent of his injuries, with the wire having burrowed into the skin above his caruncle – the red part in the corner of the eye.

However, experts were unable to confirm what instrument caused the bizarre injury – and suggested it could have been a tool, or something similar.

The man presented himself to the Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi.

Dr Amar Pujari, who led the procedure to remove the wire, explained how the man sought help at hospital two hours after the injury.

Stunned ophthalmologists revealed the strange incident in the prestigious British Medical Journal Case Reports

Gruesome pictures display the extent of his injuries, with the wire having burrowed into the skin above his caruncle – the red part in the corner of the eye

Tests revealed he still had 20/20 vision – described as the normal, healthy level of eyesight.

FOREIGN BODIES IN THE EYE: THE FACTS

Eyelashes prevent most particles or objects from entering the eye, and tears usually are able to rinse out particles that do get in the eye.

Occasionally, a solid object or projectile can adhere to the eye or embed itself below the surface of the eye.

Foreign bodies in the eye can be small specks of dirt or eyelashes, or larger objects such as cinders, rust or glass. The eye is damaged easily.

The most common type of eye injury is a corneal abrasion — a scratch in the cornea, the transparent layer that lies over your pupil (the center of your eye) and iris (the colored part).

If the foreign body sticks to the under-surface of the eyelid, the scratch occurs when the object rubs against the cornea as you blink, and the scratch will be in a vertical line.

Source: Harvard University

Writing in the journal, Dr Pujari explained the injury occurred ‘following a burst of an instrument’.

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, she said: ‘It was a metallic wire which entered the orbit and nasal cavity.’

Surgeons pulled the wire out using ‘firm’ force while the unnamed patient was under local anaesthetic.

However, due to the location of the injury, the man was given a course of antibiotics to slash the risk of any infections.

Wounds are susceptible to catching bugs, which could have eaten away at his skin or travelled to his eye and potentially blind him.

Only a handful of orbital foreign objects have been reported in medical literature, with this the latest in a line of strange cases.

Researchers compiled a review of bizarre incidents in 2012, highlighting how a 23-year-old man had a gunshot pellet in his eye.

The Polish scientists also revealed how a 14-year-old girl had a door glass splinter in her eye in the journal Otolaryngologia Polska.

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