Talk about a miracle! Surgeons in Jerusalem, Israel, successfully managed to reattach a 12-year-old boy’s head after it was “almost completely” decapitated during a bike accident!
According to a statement on the Hadassah Medical Center Ein Kerem’s website, Suleiman Hassan‘s bike ride nearly took a deadly turn when he “was forcefully run over by a wild driver.” Due to the impact from the crash, the young boy was left “with a fracture in the head and neck joint and tears in all his supporting ligaments.” So scary!! He was rushed to the Hadassah Medical Center by helicopter and “immediately admitted for a long and complex emergency surgery.”
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From there, doctors realized just how serious the injury had been. Dr. Ohad Einav – a specialist orthopedist who operated on the kid – explained in a statement that “the head almost completely disconnected from the base of the neck.” OMG!!! Another surgeon involved Dr. Ziv Asa there is normally only a “50% chance of survival” in these types of cases. But Suleiman defied the odds! The statement added:
“Despite the serious injury — the surgery went very successfully, and Suliman was released to his home with a neck fixed and under close supervision of the hospital staff.”
That’s AMAZING!
Over on Instagram, the hospital shared on July 5 a picture of Suleiman with Asa and Einav, noting how this was an “extremely rare and complex operation” completed by the surgeons as they “reattached a 12-year-old boy’s head to his neck after a serious accident in which he was hit by a car while riding his bicycle.” The post continued:
“Suleiman Hassan, from the Jordan Valley, was airlifted to Hadassah’s trauma unit in Ein Kerem, where it was determined that the ligaments holding the posterior base of his skull were severed from the top vertebrae of his spine. The condition, bilateral atlanto occipital joint dislocation, is commonly known as internal or orthopedic decapitation. The injury is very rare in adults, and even more so in children.”
Per a paper from the World Journal of Orthopedics, atlanto-occipital dislocation or internal decapitation happens when the ligaments and bone structures connecting the spine to the skull get damaged. Talking about the surgery, Einav explained to The Times Of Israel:
“We fought for the boy’s life. The procedure itself is very complicated and took several hours. While in the operating room, we used new plates and fixations in the damaged area… Our ability to save the child was thanks to our knowledge and the most innovative technology in the operating room. The injury is extremely rare, but we do know that because children between ages four and 10 have heads that are large in relation to their bodies, they are more susceptible than adults.”
According to Fox News, the operation actually happened in June. However, the surgeons decided to wait a month before revealing the outcome. And although Suleiman was recently discharged with a cervical split, he will continue to remain under medical supervision. Thankfully, Einav told the outlet the child has been “functioning normally” since the surgery:
“The fact that such a child has no neurological deficits or sensory or motor dysfunction and that he is functioning normally and walking without an aid after such a long process is no small thing.”
Suleiman’s father had nothing but gratitude for the doctors who helped his son, saying:
“I will thank you all my life for saving my dear only son. Bless you all. Thanks to you he regained his life even when the odds were low and the danger was obvious. What saved him were professionalism, technology and quick decision-making by the trauma and orthopedics team. All I can say is a big thank you.”
Wow. The young kid was incredibly lucky, as this could have ended in tragedy. Reactions to the shocking situation, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments below.
[Image via Hadassah Medical Center/Instagram]
