Mumbai doctors pull out bullet lodged near robbery victim's eye through nostril

Surviving after being shot in the face is miraculous but can leave a person with life altering injuries. While having a bullet lodged in the face can be painful, removing it also comes with its own share of risks.

23-year-old Tanveer Ansari was shot after being robbed, but the bullet didn’t kill him although it blinded him in the left eye. While the 3-cm bullet was stuck in his face, many surgeons refused to perform an operation to remove it due to risks involved in the procedure.

Eventually doctors from Mumbai’s JJ Hospital decided to go ahead with the process as scans revealed that the bullet was lodged near the left eye. This enabled them to pull out the bullet through the nostril without making a single incision on Ansari’s face.

They used modified endoscopy where surgical instruments are inserted in the body by being attached to an inspection tube. Similar operations have been used to remove gallstones and tumours.

Meanwhile Tanveer is recovering from his injuries although it isn’t known if he will regain vision in his left eye.