Drain man amputation 'impossible'

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A doctor has told an inquest it was "impossible" to amputate the leg of a man who eventually died after becoming stuck in neck-high water in a drain.

Herman Vixseboxe said he had gone to the scene equipped with a special saw expecting to perform an emergency amputation on Michael Barnett.

He told the inquest there were a number of reasons why he could not free him.

Mr Barnett, 28, died from hypothermia after he became trapped in floodwater in a grille in Hull on 25 June.

Dr Vixseboxe, an accident and emergency consultant, said his journey to the scene on Astral Close, Hessle, was delayed because of the heavy downpour.

Suction force

When he arrived he said the water was up to Mr Barnett's lips and his head was being held by a police diver.

He said there was no pulse and told the inquest he believed Mr Barnett was "at best" in a deep coma.

Mr Vixseboxe told coroner Geoffrey Saul that for him to perform an amputation he would have had to go underwater and the diving team had told him that was "not an option".

If I thought I had any chance Mr Barnett would have survived, I would have attempted resuscitation Dr Herman Vixseboxe

He said the divers were having trouble keeping on their feet due to the suction force of the water going into the culvert behind the grille.

Mr Barnett was trapped by the thigh and not the lower leg, which would have made the operation more difficult, added the doctor.

He told the inquest that he could not resuscitate Mr Barnett while he was in the water and waited for a crane to pull him out.

But he did not attempt resuscitation even then because of the length of time Mr Barnett had gone without blood circulating to his brain.

"If I thought I had any chance Mr Barnett would have survived, I would have attempted resuscitation," he said.

The inquest, at the Goodwin Centre in Hull, continues.