Mangaluru : A team of neurosurgeons from Government Wenlock Hospital, Mangaluru, on Saturday removed a piece of iron rod that had pierced through the neck of a mason after a complicated surgery.

Venkatesh (60), a resident of Bhadravati in Shivamogga district, got admitted to the hospital on Friday evening with a severe complication. The rod had pierced through his neck on May 14 when he accidentally fell into an under-construction drain in the town.

While the residents were able to free Venkatesh from the rod by cutting the same, a piece of it remained in his neck.

Doctors at the Government McGann Hospital, Shivamogga, suggested that he be taken to a larger hospital, after finding it difficult to remove the rod. Though he was out of danger, Venkatesh had lost a substantial quantity of blood by the time he was admitted to Wenlock.

Hospital Medical Superintendent Rajeshwari Devi told The Hindu that Dr. C.R. Ballal, a neurosurgeon with Wenlock, conducted the surgery on Saturday and removed the rod.

The patient is stable and is in post-operative care.