A conscript from Taichung who sustained a severe injury to the left side of his face during marksmanship training yesterday afternoon is in stable condition following 11 hours of surgery.
The man, surnamed Shao (邵), sustained an open fracture to the left side of his face, with his left eyeball severely injured.
Photo: Taipei Times
Doctors at Wuri Lin Shin Hospital also found multiple metal fragments lodged in his brain.
At a news conference this morning, hospital superintendent Lin Ming-hui (林明輝) said the patient was in a coma and bleeding heavily upon arrival.
An emergency tracheostomy was subsequently performed, Lin said.
A team of plastic surgeons, neurosurgeons, ENT doctors and physicians from Taichung Armed Forces General Hospital jointly treated him, beginning surgery at about 6pm, he said.
The team said a total of 80 units of blood were transfused.
The patient is now showing stable vital signs "for the time being" after the surgery, but has not regained consciousness and remains under observation in the intensive care unit, Lin said.
The 10th Field Army yesterday said that the circumstances of how Shao sustained the injury were "unknown."
Today, it said that the gun was intact and the bullet discharged normally, which is inconsistent with a barrel explosion.
The Taichung District Prosecutors' Office is investigating the matter, it added.
The army said it immediately informed Shao's family of the situation and dispatched high-level officials to the hospital to assist them.
It also formed a task force to investigate the cause of the incident and directed the military to enforce risk management measures in all training exercises.
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