The X-ray shows the chain saw blade embedded 2 inches into the left side of James Valentine's neck, perilously close to his carotid artery.
Trauma surgeons removed the blade in an hourlong procedure. The 21-year-old South Side man had watched the buzzing saw kick back into him as he worked 15 feet off the ground in a Scotch pine on Monday.
Miraculously, he sat in his bed at Allegheny General Hospital a day later with about 30 stitches and five staples in his neck and pledged to return to work next week at Adler Tree Service in West Deer.
“I definitely feel lucky,” he said. “It was just a freak accident.”
The accident happened about 2:30 p.m. at a private home along Perry Highway in Ross. It was “worse pain than you could ever imagine,” Valentine said. The chain bar, which was about 3 inches wide and 15 inches long, also injured his left shoulder.
Valentine said he felt the chain “chewing into my neck,” but he turned it off and held it in place as three co-workers helped him down from the tree.
Greg Porter, assistant director of Ross/West View Emergency Medical Service Authority, said medics arrived within four minutes of the call and constantly talked to Valentine.
They took the saw apart but left the blade and bar where they were until he arrived at the hospital; removing them could have caused severe bleeding, doctors said.
Christine Toevs, a trauma surgeon, said the saw missed Valentine's carotid artery by a centimeter and didn't hit his esophagus, trachea or spinal cord. Had it hit any of those, he could have bled to death or had a stroke, Toevs said.
“There are 100 things that can go wrong with an injury this big,” Toevs said. The saw “blessedly missed every important part.”
Valentine said he never lost consciousness, but “everything was going through my head,” including wondering whether he would die.
His mother, Jo Ruppenkamp, heard only that he'd been hurt and took an agonizing bus ride to the hospital.
“It was horrible,” she said.
Domenic Pisani, 31, of New Castle is operations manager at Adler. Pisani said he suffered a similar injury while working in trees eight years ago, and a chain saw kicked back into his chest.
Tree cutting is one of the most dangerous industries, and Adler employees are extensively trained in safety, he said.
“It all paid off,” Pisani said.
Toevs said she treats injuries of similar magnitude several times a year in the trauma unit.
“Most people do not walk out the next day,” she said, noting that Valentine could be home soon.
Ruppenkamp said she doubts her son will be back to work in a week.
“More like five or six weeks,” she said.
Kelsey Shea is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 724-772-6353 or kshea@tribweb.com.
