Medical Miracle: Man Keeps 3-Inch Nail in his Brain for a Whole Day

A 32-year-old American has spent a whole day with a 3 1/4-inch nail lodged in the middle of his brain, without feeling much pain or uneasiness, it has been reported.

Dante Autullo accidentally cut himself with a nail gun while doing some work at the garage of his home in Orland Park, Illinois. Autullo was under the impression that the misfired nail simply whizzed past his head. Gail Glaenzer, his friend, saw a small wound and cleaned it with peroxide, according to an Associated Press report.

Autullo continued with his day as usual. He felt uneasy while waking up the next day and went to the doctor realising that something went wrong.

An X-ray image showed the errant nail lodged deep in the brain. Autullo couldn't believe what really happened to him when doctors at Advocate Christ Medical Centre in Oak Lawn told him about the situation. "When they brought in the picture, I said to the doctor 'Is this a joke? Did you get that out of the doctors joke file?' The doctor said 'No man, that's in your head,'" Autullo was quoted by the AP as saying.

The nail was removed in a two-hour surgery. The surgeons said the nail missed the part of the brain that controls motor function by a whisker. "This (the nail) is thinner, with a small trajectory, and pointed at the end. The bone doesn't fracture much because the nail has a small tip," neurosurgeon Leslie Schaffer told the AP.

"He feels good. He moved all his limbs, he's talking normal, he remembers everything. It's amazing, a miracle," Glaenzer added.