Man Survives Crossbow Bolt Lodged in Forehead for Days
An extraordinary case in Ancona highlights both the fragility and resilience of the human body.
In August 2025, police in Ancona, Italy, were dispatched to perform a routine welfare check on a 64-year-old man. What they discovered inside the apartment was anything but routine.
The man was found lying in his bed with the end of a crossbow bolt embedded in his forehead. Despite the severity of the injury, he was still alive.
He was rushed to hospital, where doctors determined that he had survived for at least two days in this condition. Medical staff reported that he was conscious but communicating incoherently and had not eaten during that time.
A Millimeter From Death
According to the hospital’s head of neurosurgery, the outcome could have been fatal under slightly different circumstances.
If the arrow had penetrated just one millimeter deeper, the injury would have been instantly lethal.
Emergency neurosurgery was performed successfully to remove the bolt. While the operation itself went well, doctors described the man’s condition afterward as serious, and no further public updates on his recovery have been released.
A Rare Medical Survival
Penetrating brain injuries are typically associated with extremely high mortality rates. Surviving such trauma let alone for multiple days without immediate medical care is exceptionally rare.
For doctors involved, the case stands as a stark reminder of both the randomness of trauma and the limits of prediction in emergency medicine.
For now, the incident remains one of the more disturbing and improbable survival stories to emerge from Europe this year.
Tags: Italy, Ancona, Medical Anomalies, Survival Stories, Neurosurgery, Extreme Injuries, Human Resilience, Unusual News
