Surgeons have reattached a 12-year-old boy's head to his neck in a ground-breaking operation.
The boy was severely injured in a devastating accident involving a collision with a car while he was riding his bicycle.
The young patient, Suleiman Hassan, was airlifted to the trauma unit at Hadassah Medical Centre in Jerusalem where surgeons determined that the ligaments supporting the base of his skull had suffered severe damage.
Consequently, the base of the skull had become detached from the top vertebrae of the spine, resulting in bilateral atlanto occipital joint dislocation - commonly referred to as internal or orthopaedic decapitation.
Dr Ohad Einav, was the orthopaedic specialist who took the clinical lead role and who was ably assisted by Dr Ziv Asa and a wider dedicated team.
Dr Einav emphasised that their ability to rescue the child stemmed from their ability to deploy cutting-edge technology.
Suleiman’s life was saved ‘thanks to our knowledge and the most innovative technology in the operating room’.
‘This is not a common surgery at all, and especially not on children and teens. A surgeon needs knowledge and experience to do this.’
He recently returned to Israel after a fellowship at trauma centres in Toronto and is believed to be one of the few surgeons in Israel specialising in trauma surgery for spinal injuries.
Following his recovery, Suleiman Hassan was discharged with a cervical splint.
Dr Einav highlighted the significance of Suleiman's situation, noting that the absence of any neurological deficits or sensory or motor dysfunction in such a young patient is 'truly remarkable'.
Despite the lengthy and complex process, the patient can now function normally, walk without aid and resume his daily activities.
According to the report, Suleiman’s father told hospital staff: ‘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 orthopaedics team. All I can say is a big thank you.’
A report from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in 2003 revealed that, out of the 2006 patients treated for spinal cord injuries between 1983 and 2003, only 16 individuals suffered from occipital joint dislocation.
While this injury remains exceptionally rare, Dr Einav explained that children between the ages of four and 10 are more vulnerable due to their heads being proportionally larger in relation to their bodies compared to adults.
Internal decapitation carries an exceptionally high mortality.
Remarkably, evidence suggests that children tend to fare better than adults in such cases, although comprehensive data comparing children to adolescents is still limited.
A recent survey encompassing studies on this specific injury in children and adolescents conducted in 2021 revealed that 55% of patients did not survive the initial injury, transportation to the hospital, surgery and subsequent recovery.
Photo caption - Dr Ohad Einav and Ziv Asa with 12-year-old Suleiman Hassan at Hadassah Medical Center. Photo courtesy of Hadassah Medical Centre.
