Hero Doctor Uses Household Drill On Skull

(CBS/ AP)  A doctor in rural Australia used a handyman's power drill to bore a hole into the skull of a boy with a severe head injury, saving his life.

Nicholas Rossi fell off his bike on Friday in the small Victoria state city of Maryborough, hitting his head on the pavement, his father, Michael, said Wednesday. By the time Rossi got to the hospital, he was slipping in and out of consciousness.

The doctor on duty, Rob Carson, quickly recognized the boy was experiencing potentially fatal bleeding on the brain and knew he had only minutes to make a hole in the boy's skull to relieve the pressure.

But the small hospital wasn't equipped with neurological drills — so Carson sent for a household drill from the maintenance room.

"Dr. Carson came over to us and said, 'I am going to have to drill into (Nicholas) to relieve the pressure on the brain — we've got one shot at this and one shot only,"' Michael Rossi told The Australian newspaper.

"The procedure didn't worry me," Carson told Cameron Baud of Autralia's Network TEN. "What worried me was that this little twelve-year-old was going to die."

Baud says Rossi fractured his skull and burst an artery when he fell. It was an injury similar to the one that claimed the life of actress Natasha Richardson, Baud adds.

Carson called a neurosurgeon in the state capital of Melbourne for help; he talked Carson through the procedure — which he had never before attempted — by telling him where to aim the drill and how deep to go.

"All of a sudden, the emergency ward was turned into an operating theater," Michael Rossi told Fairfax Radio on Wednesday. "We didn't see anything, but we heard the noises, heard the drill. It was just one of those surreal experiences."

The procedure took just over a minute, said anesthetist Dr. David Tynan, who assisted Carson.

"It was pretty scary. You obviously worry, (are) you pushing hard enough or pushing too hard, but then when some blood came out after we'd gone through the skull, we realized we'd made the right decision," Tynan told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

"This was a once-in-a-career thing that happens to very few people," Tynan told Baud.

Rossi was airlifted to a larger hospital in Melbourne and released Tuesday — his 13th birthday.

Baud reports he could be back on his bike in two months.

Carson was modest about his feat.

"It is not a personal achievement, it is just a part of the job and I had a very good team of people helping me," he told The Australian.

Carson downplayed his hero status to Baud, saying, "General practitioners in country towns do procedures all the time."

Michael Rossi was more effusive.

"He saved our son's life," he said.

[compubuff-2009]

That poor kid needed that doctor like he needed a hole in his head. Did you know that the doctor worked as a part time carpenter on Tv's "This Old House." I wonder if he used plumber's putty to fill the hole? Just joking folks...

[rhs648]

Would he have been hailed a hero if the kid had died from the procedure?
Posted by PVperson2

He probably would not be hailed a hero if the kid had died. The doctor could have taken the chance that the boy would die if he didn't do anything. Thankfully, the doctor was willing to try something he had never done before and the boy lived. Most of us consider the doctor a hero.

[Dgunner]

People who save lives like the ones who take them such as soldiers put every skill and all thier craft on the line with thier next move.

[willyn3]

It's nice to know that there are still doctors with the courage to do what they know is right, no matter what. The doctor deserves all the gratitude the parents will give him. I hope my doctor is as courageous if needed to be.

[displeased]

Do you not know about the deadly bacterias that are out there now?
Posted by erasmus111

Heck, I'm scared to even breath when I'm NEAR a hospital.

[erasmus111]

I think they have alcohol in Australia
Posted by at 2:29 PM : May 20, 2009

You think alcohol is going to do it, do ya?

Do you live in the real world?

Do you not know about the deadly bacterias that are out there now?

All the infections out there that are resistant to antibiotics?

MRSA?

If you get a cut on your finger, you can wash it and disinfect it, and you may not get an infection, but that's not saying you won't. There was a woman that cut her finger and did all those things, put a bandaid on it, and she still got an infection. In fact, she got the "flesh eating disease". She lost her arm shoulder and half her chest. Alcohol didn't do much for her.

[SAMTORRES66]

guess the risk of infection was minimal compared to doing nothing at all.

Posted by barbaraf4 at 1:24 PM : May 20, 2009




I think they have alcohol in Australia

[displeased]

Would he have been hailed a hero if the kid had died from the procedure?
Posted by PVperson2

No, he probably would have been sued for malpractice, lost his practice, and eventually commit suicide after turning to drugs and booze. But, people shouldn't let those pessimistic thoughts affect their quick decision making.

[erasmus111]

I guess the risk of infection was minimal compared to doing nothing at all.

Posted by barbaraf4 at 1:24 PM : May 20, 2009

Yeah, lets hope he doesn't get an infection. The infections out there now are deadly. At least he would still have a chance though.

[Hermit1948]

Finally, a good story. Hero saves life.