A 7-year-old boy from India got an approximately 3-inch nail lodged in his brain after falling on the nail while playing

The iron nail pierced his neck and went up to his brain, “barely missing a blood vessel,” according to medical professionals at King George’s Medical University in Lucknow
The surgery to remove the nail lasted four hours, as doctors had to avoid damaging the brain and “sensitive nerves between the mouth and the brain”
A young boy in India is lucky to be alive after a freak accident that caused an approximately 3-inch nail to pierce his brain.

The 7-year-old boy from the Balrampur district — who was not identified — was transported to King George’s Medical University (KGMU) in Lucknow,

India, on May 16 to have a 2.27-inch nail that was lodged in his brain surgically removed, according to local outlets India Today,

ETV Bharat and The Hindustan Times.

The child reportedly got the nail stuck in his body after he accidentally fell down while playing and landed on the iron nail,

which pierced through his neck up to his brain, according to India Today.

He was rushed to a nearby private hospital before being transferred to KGMU for treatment, per the outlet.

King George’s Medical University did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for more information.

MRI scans, which KGMU shared with local news outlets, show the nail extending from the lower part of the boy’s

neck and jaw up to his head, slightly extending into his skull.

The scans showed just how close the nail got to piercing the 7-year-old’s brain, and just how fatal the injury could have been if the nail had pierced a different part of his head or hit a blood vessel, according to KGMU medical professionals.

“It was during the course of investigation that we found that the nail had gone from the neck to the brain, barely missing a blood vessel.

We consulted the experts in NeuroSurgery and ENT Departments and then decided to conduct this complicated surgery,” said Dr. Sandip Tiwari, per ETV Bharat.

Prof. Samir Misra, a senior faculty member at KGMU’s trauma surgery department, told The Hindustan Times that the complicated surgery “lasted four hours,” as any mistakes could have been fatal. During the process, “the nail had to be carefully removed while avoiding damage to the brain and sensitive nerves between the mouth and the brain,” Misra said.

Tiwari told ETV Bharat that the surgery was successful and that the boy was later transferred to KGMU’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit,

where he continued his recovery. KGMU medical experts said the child remained under medical supervision and was expected to be discharged once his condition was stabilized, per The Hindustan Times.

The Medical Superintendent of KGMU noted, per India Today, that due to the case’s success, it would be documented as a significant contribution to medical science. A comprehensive report on the surgery will be published in an international medical journal for other medical professionals to garner insights