In a miraculous turn of events, the shrapnel did not damage the spinal cord: A 12-year-old boy from Majdal Shams was operated on at Galilee Medical Centre, where an 18mm (0.7 inch) piece of shrapnel was removed from a particularly sensitive area of his body.
The boy, who was transferred earlier this week from Ziv Hospital to Galilee Medical Centre after being injured by a rocket in Majdal Shams, underwent surgery this morning by Dr. Alon Rod, a spine surgery specialist. His condition is now stable and defined as mild.
Dr. Nimrod Rakhimimov, head of the Orthopedics and Spinal Surgery Department, reported after the successful operation: “The large fragment was embedded in the back of the vertebra and fractured it, but miraculously did not harm the spinal cord itself. It was a significant stroke of luck.” The boy has been returned to the paediatric surgery department and is expected to be discharged home in the coming days.
