Jasmine Stole

jstole@guampdn.com

The neurosurgeon who on Tuesday removed the knife lodged in a 27-year-old man’s skull said the blade was a millimeter away from doing serious damage.



“This knife passed literally within about one millimeter of his carotid canal, and that’s an incredibly large and important artery, which, depending on where you damage it, can bleed into any number of other structures and can be life threatening,” said Dr. David Weingarten, neurosurgeon for Guam Regional Medical City.

The man was reportedly stabbed Saturday night by 23-year-old BF Isam , according to a court complaint.

Isam told authorities that he was drinking with the man that night and the man retrieved a knife and tried to stab Isam twice, court documents state.

Isam said he took a knife from on top of a door and stabbed the man in the eye, documents state.

The man was taken to GRMC Saturday night after police found him at a Dededo home, according to a court complaint.

While the actual removal was a short time, most of the three-hour procedure was for preparation, according to Weingarten.

“Surprise is the archenemy of a surgery. You never want to be surprised in surgery, and not be prepared to handle it,” he said. “We went over, as a team, any number of possible scenarios in what could happen, so we made sure we were prepared for any of them.”

Because the knife was thoroughly lodged, it took the use of a clamp and mallet to take the knife out without wiggling it back and forth, Weingarten said.

There was no damage to the man’s brain, and doctors don’t know yet if he will still be able to see out of his left eye, according to Weingarten.

The man’s optic nerve was not damaged, and his actual eyeball was not punctured, Weingarten said. “The damage that could have been catastrophic from something like this was, in the scheme of things, really minimal,” the neurosurgeon said.

“He’s very, very lucky,” Weingarten said. “It’s like his guardian angel guarded the knife right past, basically, every important structure it possibly could’ve hit.”

Wednesday was the first time the man has been conscious since the Saturday night stabbing, according to Dr. Scott Shay, neurointerventional radiologist.

The man was stable, he was taken off a breathing machine and was talking as of Wednesday morning, Shay said.

Doctors will monitor the man as he recovers from surgery.

Weingarten said the knife was largest instrument he’s ever had to remove from someone’s head in his career. Dr. Anna Shapiro, anesthesiologist also said this case involved the largest instrument impaled in someone that she’s had to treat.

It took a team of physicians, nurses and technicians to work on the removal, and Weingarten credited them for the surgery’s success.

More stories:

GPD: Homeless man arrested, another sent to hospital after stabbing

Isam charged with attempted murder

Suspect arrested after man stabbed in head