Operation success for impaled boy

The boy was retrieving a ball when he got stuck on the fence. Photo / Dean Purcell

An 11-year-old boy was last night recovering after surgery to remove a metal spike that speared his leg in a schoolyard accident.

Liston College principal Chris Rooney said the Year 7 student was trying to retrieve a ball that had gone over the fence at the end of morning tea.

"The duty teacher was on the scene immediately and was able to get the help of other staff to make sure the boy was safe," he said.

Titirangi Station Officer Jim Hoskins said firefighters arrived to find the West Auckland boy being supported on either side of the fence by teachers and the principal of the Catholic boys' school in Henderson.

"He had one of those railing spikes through his knee."

The steel spike was about 9cm thick and had entered the back of his leg, just behind his knee in an upwards direction. It had gone in about 7cm deep.

"It was lodged in there quite nicely."

Mr Hoskins said firefighters used hydraulic cutters to cut the spike from the fence - equipment that generated a certain amount of fear in the boy when he felt the cold metal against his injured leg.

"We had to slide the jaws under his leg and he cried out, please don't cut off my leg."

Firefighters reassured him they were just cutting the spike.

"He was pretty good - lucid and talkative right throughout the whole operation."

Mr Hoskins said it wasn't the first time he'd been called to such a job and it was common practice to simply cut the impaling item and leave doctors to remove it, rather than try to pull it out.

"It could be holding back a blood supply so we leave it in there, we're not the surgeons, we just cut it off."

Mr Rooney said the boy was incredibly calm during the ordeal.

"The staff who arrived reassured him. There was no panic, no attempt to try and move - which was the good thing." His classmates were also remarkably calm and mature and Mr Rooney went into their class afterwards to commend them on their actions. The boy's mother was believed to be with him at Starship hospital yesterday.

A hospital spokesman said last night that the surgery went well and the boy was in a stable condition. He would stay in hospital overnight.

Mr Rooney said that part of the fence was the only part around the school that had spiked tips as it was next to a gate that led directly to the middle of the school campus.

A report about the accident would be sent to the Department of Labour and the Ministry of Education had also been told about it. Mr Rooney said there were no plans to change the fence or gate as it was believed to be a one-off incident.

"It hasn't happened before and hopefully won't happen again."