Man stable following stingray attack
BRIAN HAAS
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
FORT LAUDERDALE - Doctors pulled a 2½-inch stingray barb from James Bertakis' heart early Thursday morning, but the 81-year-old man's condition remained perilous.
After five hours of surgery, Bertakis improved to critical but stable condition at Broward General Medical Center's intensive-care unit, said Dr. Eugene Costantini at a Thursday morning press conference.
"His heart is functioning well, his lungs are functioning well," Costantini said. "God willing, he'll survive this."
Bertakis was boating on the Intracoastal Waterway in Lighthouse Point, Fla., on Wednesday afternoon when a 3-foot-wide stingray burst from the water and stuck his chest with its barb. He was able to pilot the boat to land and call 911.
Costantini said doctors repaired puncture wounds in Bertakis' heart after the barb entered the left side, pierced the septum separating the two chambers of the heart and then bore through the right side. Doctors saw the barb sticking out of his heart when they began surgery, he said, and pulled it through.
Bertakis underwent additional surgery Thursday afternoon to control internal bleeding and to remove his spleen, which had swollen and ruptured since the previous procedures, Costantini said.
"At this gentleman's age, (the spleen) plays a limited role and will not be missed," he said.
Doctors will now monitor Bertakis' heart, lungs and kidneys to see how his body will handle the injuries and medical treatment.
"My father's got a way to go. We do believe in the power of prayer," said his son, Jim Bertakis. "He's a fighter and he's gonna get through it."
The parallels to the death of "Croc Hunter" Steve Irwin last month weren't lost on James Bertakis' relatives. Irwin was killed when a sting¬ray barb pierced his heart as he swam near Port Douglas, Australia.
"I'd like to also say to Terri Irwin our sympathies, we understand her pain to some degree," Bertakis' son, Chris Bertakis, said of Irwin's wife.
Costantini said that in 20 years, he has never pulled a stingray barb from a man's heart. If marine biology experts are right, he's unlikely to do it again.
Spotted eagle rays grow to more than 8 feet and weigh up to 500 pounds, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History. They feed on a variety of mollusks, crustaceans and fish using their shovel-shaped snouts to find prey along the ocean floor.
Robert Cowen, professor and chair of marine biology and fisheries at the University of Miami, said those rays are common in South Florida but rarely swim near humans.
"I've seen them from the bridges over some of the canals in Coral Gables," Cowen said. "It would be much harder for a human to get that fish in a situation where it feels threatened and has to use its spine."
He said stingrays only use their barbs if touched or harassed. A stingray barb can also contain toxins that can irritate wounds but aren't fatal.
Costantini said that the toxins irritating James Bertakis' wounds abated once the barb was removed.
The most common injuries occur when people step on small stingrays that frequent shallow water. That can be avoided by shuffling your feet if stingrays are nearby.
"You don't have to fear them in any way, they're very docile," Cowan said. "Don't harass them and you'll be fine."
Only 17 fatal stingray attacks, including Irwin's, have been reported worldwide, Costantini said.
