A very difficult operation was performed at the Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery “Diomid Gherman” for the first time. Neurosurgeon Grigore Zapuhlyh, who is the Institute’s director, managed to extract a bullet that stayed in a Romanian young man’s brain for over a year and a half, when he was hurt in shooting in Germany, IPN reports, quoting a press release of the Institute.
The surgery lasted for about six hours. One day after the bullet was taken out, the patient could speak already. According to the professor, such an operation is not performed swiftly as extensive examinations are needed.
The young man’s mother said the incident happened in Germany, where her son was studying. He was injured in the left temporoparietal junction and the bullet got stuck in the skull. He had been in a coma for about three months and a half. When he regained consciousness, he had mixed aphasia and could not see. He received treatment in Romania. He was hospitalized in Chisinau for examinations and treatment after doctors in Germany and Romania refused to operate him owing to his serious state. The young man pronounced only some syllables, had behavioral disorders and his working capacity and quality of life were affected. He was discharged from the hospital in two weeks of the surgery.
He was examined by professor Grigore Zapuhlyh and was then operated by professor Vasile Galearschi.
“I performed the surgery by intraoperative radiography. I found the bullet with difficulty as it was deep inside the brain. My success as a neurosurgeon resides in the fact that the bullet was not only extracted, but the patient after surgery could sit down and stand up. He started to do simple things. When he was discharged, we shook hands and he said me goodbye. My joy derived from the fact that the young man was brought to Chisinau on a stretcher, but left sitting in a car,” related Grigore Zapuhlyh.
