Polish man looks in mirror before spotting screwdriver stuck in head

Polish doctors say a man has undergone a three-hour operation to remove a screwdriver that was lodged two inches into his head.

The 25-year-old was working in his yard in the Polish city of Bialystok when it is believed he slipped and the screwdriver entered his forehead.

Jan Kochanowicz, one of the doctors treating him, said it wasn't until he looked in a mirror that he realised something was wrong.

He then smoked a cigarette to calm down before seeking any help.

The man probably slipped while working in the yard. When he got up he felt a pain in his hand but then he realised that there was something else.

He went to a car and saw in the mirror that he has a screwdriver stuck in himself. The situation wasn't very comfortable for him, he was stressed, but after smoking a cigarette he calmed down.

He called his neighbour who took him to the hospital.

Doctors treating the man say he was extremely lucky that the screwdriver did not cause more damage.

The implement was removed from his frontal lobe but, incredibly, it did not damage his sight or brain.

"The patient is in very good condition," said Piotr Szydlik, adding that he "needs further treatment with antibiotics".

The main risk the patient now runs is that of an infection, since the screwdriver was not clean.

"The screwdriver wasn't sterile so it wasn't ready to be put in direct contact with the brain," said Dr Jan Kochanowicz.

"The patient was working in the yard so his skin wasn't disinfected. Let's hope that antibiotics and tetanus vaccination will protect him against complications."