Arizona man impales eye with pruning shears, survives

By: Ryan Jaslow
Topics: News ,; Strange

A CT scan shows a pair of pruning shears embedded in the head of 86-year-old Leroy Luetscher.

(Credit: AP)

(CBS) If a picture is worth a thousand words, an x-ray like this one must be worth a thousand grimaces.

Leroy Luetscher, an 86-year-old Arizona man, is lucky to be alive after accidentally impaling his eye with pruning shears.

Luetscher was working in his yard on July 30, when he dropped the shears - point-side down - then lost his balance while trying to pick them up. The shears penetrated his eye socket and went down into his neck, reaching on carotid artery - the main provider of blood to the brain.

Pictures: 20 most shocking X-rays

"You wouldn't believe your eyes," his surgeon Dr. Julie Wynne, assistant professor of surgery at University Medical Center in Tucson Arz., said in a written statement. "Half of the pruning shears was sticking out and the other half was in his head."

Dr. Wynne and her team successfully removed the shears and saved Luetscher's eye. Notwithstanding some eyelid swelling and a minor case of double-vision, he's expected to make a full recovery.

"I am so grateful to the doctors and staff at UMC," Luetscher said in the statement.

What should you do if something like this happens to you?

Never remove the impaled object, according to South Georgia College. Tape a paper cup or cone over the impaled object and hold it in place with a bandage to prevent it from moving. Get to an emergency room or call 911 right away.

Think this X-ray is scary? Keep clicking to see 20 shocking x-rays.