Jakarta, IO – A team of Ukrainian military doctors managed to perform an unusual surgery to remove an unexploded live grenade embedded in a soldier’s heart. During the operation, they were accompanied by two sappers (soldiers whose specialization is to lay and clear landmines) to ensure that it went safely, reported The Guardian on Thursday (12/1).
The shocking news was revealed by Deputy Defense Minister of Ukraine Hanna Maliar. She uploaded an X-ray image showing a grenade lodged inside the 28-year-old soldier’s body, near his chest. The operation was successfully carried out in a short time by a team of surgeons led by Maj. Gen. Andriy Verba, a specialist surgeon in the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
According to Hanna, the grenade was a 40mm VOG grenade weighing 275 grams, made in the Soviet Union era. The operation was performed without electrocoagulation or procedures that use heat from an electric current to repair damaged tissue and control bleeding.
“The operation was carried out by one of the most experienced surgeons in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Andrii Verba, without electrocoagulation because the grenade could explode at any moment,” she said.
The grenade was still active when it was removed. Hanna claimed that currently the soldier, who was not named, is being rehabilitated and his condition has stabilized. (bp)