Extreme X-ray: Woman nicknamed 'the human kebab' after surviving impalement
![](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/H1GZsX4RTskfAicvjQvjKA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD02OTg-/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/IUrAAdO5jKs5jugNgzkg.g--~B/aD01MDY7dz05MDA7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/http://l.yimg.com/os/publish-images/news/2014-06-02/f807aef0-ea3b-11e3-8a71-a542dea09d98_CEN_SteelRod_03.jpg)
Chinese media dubbed a woman 'the human kebab' after she was pierced by a steel rod through the entire length of her body.
Wu Xingxian, 42, was working at a construction site in Duchang county, in southern China, when the wooden plank she was standing on broke.
She fell 20 feet on to a steel rod below that penetrated through her left thigh, went through her stomach and chest, and exited at her neck.
'I didn’t know a steel rod had gone into my body. I just felt there was something on my neck and I tried to touch it. When people told me a steel rod had gone right through me, I didn’t dare move any more and I felt quite scared. I thought I was going to die,' Wu said.
![The rod penetrated through her left thigh, went through her stomach and chest and exited at her neck (CEN)](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/wLFVmsm___kCzvCt4vuNtA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU0MA--/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/tlYWKF4hYue0S1jjIhcTew--~B/aD01MDY7dz05MDA7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/http://l.yimg.com/os/publish-images/news/2014-06-02/490af8c0-ea3c-11e3-8a71-a542dea09d98_CEN_SteelRod_04.jpg)
![The two-metre-long rod had penetrated almost the whole length of Wu's body (CEN)](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/FoU8rpqQi0avhokIa2dSTg--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MA--/https://s.yimg.com/os/publish-images/news/2014-06-02/85963d40-ea3c-11e3-8a71-a542dea09d98_CEN_SteelRod_01.jpg)
Wu was rushed to the No. 1 People’s Hospital in Jiujiang, but had fallen into a coma by the time she arrived.
According to doctor Yuan Xiangyang, the two-metre-long bar had penetrated almost the whole length of her body.
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He said: 'It looked pretty bleak, the rod had caused severe internal damage and was also right next to her heart.
![It took surgeons five hours to remove the rod from Wu's body (CEN)](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/6uqzaHLP29p6Xk7OhFkhaQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MA--/https://s.yimg.com/os/publish-images/news/2014-06-02/cefa62e0-ea3c-11e3-8a71-a542dea09d98_CEN_SteelRod_05.jpg)
'If there had been any movement, the patient’s arteries would likely break and the patient would die instantly from massive blood loss.'
He led a team of surgeons in a five-hour operation to remove the pole from her body.
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Dr Yuan added: 'This should by rights have been a fatal injury. I would not have expected her to live through it, but luckily she did. She is an extraordinary woman.'
If she avoids infection, Wu should make a full recovery.