15-inch shard of wood removed from man's head

KONIN, Poland, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Doctors in Poland said a man who impaled himself through the head with a 15-inch piece of wood is now recovering from the injury.

Medical staff said Kamil Podwinski, 40, fell onto the spear-like piece of wood while working on his home in Konin and the lumber penetrated his head just below his eye socket and stabbed through to the back of his neck.

Sebastian Andrzejewski, a spokesman for the local fire department, said firefighters were called in to help doctors reduce the size of the splinter when medical staff discovered the injury would not allow the man to fit into an X-ray machine.

"We got a call asking us to help remove a piece of wood from a man's face," Sebastian Andrzejewski told Central European News.

"When we arrived, it was sticking out at quite an angle and took quite a bit of effort to shorten it without causing further damage," the spokesman said. "It wasn't a case of just snapping off the end. It was tricky, but we managed it and he didn't complain or seem worried at all."

Podwinski was transferred to a specialty hospital in Poznan, where the wood was completely removed. A spokesman said Podwinski is now recovering from his injury.

"We were able to remove it and the man is now recovering," the spokesman said. "It's a miracle it didn't take the eye out or cause serious damage."