Miami-Dade

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Doctors: Miami-Dade teen shot through the head with a spear is recovering

 

A teen who was shot through the head with a spear is recovering at Jackson Memorial Hospital.

 

X-ray released on Monday by Jackson Memorial Hospital shows how the spear entered the head and pierced the brain of Yasser Lopez, 16.
X-ray released on Monday by Jackson Memorial Hospital shows how the spear entered the head and pierced the brain of Yasser Lopez, 16.
Courtesy of Jackson Memorial Hospital

Miami Herald Staff

The X-ray depicting the freak accident that nearly killed Nasser Lopez is shocking.

It shows a spear — accidentally fired by a friend — protruding end-to-end through the 16-year-old’s skull and brain.

Nasser survived the June 8 accident which occurred as the teen swam in a lake near his southwest Miami-Dade home with a 15-year-old friend. The friend was loading the spear gun when he touched the trigger, sending the three-foot long spear zooming toward Nasser.

On Monday, the doctors from the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital and the Army Trauma Training Center staff that helped treat the teen revealed at a news conference the unbelievable X-ray.

The bottom line: Nasser is lucky to be alive and recovering.

“It’s a miracle the spear missed all the main blood vessels of the brain,’’ said neurosurgeon Ross Bullock, a neurosurgeon. Nasser remains in serious condition.

The spear entered Nasser’s head about an inch over his right eye and exited in the back of his head, doctors said.

When he arrived at JMH via helicopter, doctors said the main thing was to fight their urge to quickly yank out the imposing foreign object from the teen’s head. Instead, they used a rebar cutters and vise grips from the Miami-Dade fire department to stabilize the spear and eventually figured out how to remove the spear and its bulky tip.

Nasser underwent three hours of surgery to remove the spear which entered the right side of his brain.

Doctors said the teen has no recollection of the accident.

Nasser is expected to remain hospitalized for several more months when the extent of his injuries will be clearer.

Miami Herald news partner WFOR-CBS4 contributed to this report

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