Man Shoots 3-1/2″ Framing Nail Into Heart… and Lives

Dennis Hennis is a fortunate man. He was working on a neighbor’s roof last week when his nail gun stopped firing. They jam up from time to time, particularly the less expensive models. We had our own run-in with an employee who decided to “fix” a nail gun while his finger was on the trigger – it didn’t turn out so good and ended with a trip to the hospital. Dennis’ story is a little different. When his gun jammed he didn’t tap it with his hand.

He spun it around, business end first, towards his chest to clear it. And that’s when he felt something that reminded him of being poked hard in the chest.

As it turns out, he had shot a nail at 120psi into his heart, piercing his right ventricle.

Now, Dennis is a self-employed
builder from New Jersey. As we all know, a 3-1/2″ nail has no business being in your chest. Dennis went into near-immediate cardiac arrest and was transported, first via ambulance, then via helicopter, to Cooper University Hospital in Camden for surgery. During the initial ambulance ride he apparently had to be resuscitated. Once at the university hospital, a team of cardiac and trauma surgeons worked on him to repair the damage. The process actually included bypassing his heart (stopping it) for a full 40 minutes.

His surgeon, Dr. Michael Rosenbloom, told ABC news “You’re talking about a puncture wound to the heart. He’s very lucky. There are so many things that had to take
place for him to be alive.”

Has anybody have a close call like that? If so, please let us know by posting to Facebook or commenting in our forums.

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