Toddler recovering after screwdriver pierces brain

This photo shows CT scans of Han Han's head before doctors removed the screwdriver. (CEN)

A Chinese toddler narrowly cheated death after tripping while holding a screwdriver, causing the tool to become lodged in her brain. Han Han, 1, was learning how to walk when she managed to get her hands on the tool, Central European News (CEN) reported.

The screwdriver pierced through the child’s right cheek before becoming stuck in her brain. Han Han was initially crying after the accident, CEN reported, but eventually fell unconscious, causing her parents to fear the worst.

She was taken to Xuzhou Central Hospital where doctors convinced her worried parents to allow them to perform surgery.

“Seven centimeters (2.75 inches) of the screwdriver were inside the child’s skull, and three centimeters (1.2 inches) had penetrated her brain,” Dr. Jiang Dehua, head neurosurgeon, told CEN. “But luckily it missed her right eye and major blood vessels.”

“We could not just pull the screwdriver out – that could have caused unforeseen complications – so we eventually convinced the parents to let us operate,” he said.

Surgeons took five hours to remove the tool, leaving Han Han, of Xuzhou City, in China’s eastern Jiangsu Province, in stable condition with a good prognosis. Doctors are now monitoring for infection, CEN reported.