An 86-year-old American man is recovering after being accidentally impaled through his eye socket by pruning shears.
Leroy Luetscher, from Tucson, Arizona, dropped his shears while working in the garden.
They landed blade side down in the ground but, when Mr Luetscher went to pick them up, he lost his balance and fell face down on the handle.
The handle - measuring around 10 inches - penetrated his eye socket underneath the eye and went down into his neck.
Mr Luetscher was rushed to University Medical Centre for treatment where surgeons carried out a complicated operation to remove the shears and save his eye.
"You wouldn’t believe your eyes," said surgeon Julie Wynne.
"Half of the pruning shears was sticking out and the other half was in his head."
"You just wonder how the handle of the pruning shears got there."
Fellow surgeon Lynn Polonski said: "The handle was actually resting on the external carotid artery in his neck.
"With the help of Dr Wynne and Dr Kay Goshima, we decided we could safely remove the pruning shears. We are so happy that Mr Luetscher did not lose his eye or any vital structures."
Mr Luetscher knows he is lucky to be alive. "I am so grateful to the doctors and staff at UMC."
