Miracle Surgery: Boy’s Head Successfully Reattached after Internal Decapitation

• Skull and spine separate, but skin remains intact.
•  Intensive procedure preserves brain’s blood supply.
• Boy shows no neurological abnormalities or motor impairments.

Doctors in Israel reattached a boy’s head after he was hit by a car while riding his bike.

Suleiman Hassan, a 12-year-old Palestinian from the West Bank, suffered an internal decapitation, in which the base of the skull and the top of the spine became separated but the skin remained intact.

The complete separation of the head from the body is referred to as decapitation. Internal decapitation happens when a violent blow to the head tears the ligaments and muscles that maintain the skull in place on the top vertebrate of the spine.

The injury is extremely rare, accounting for fewer than 1% of all spinal injuries.

According to doctors, Suleiman’s head was ‘nearly totally separated from the base of his neck.’ He underwent several hours of tedious surgery performed by an intensive care team.

Suleiman was riding his bike when he was hit by a car. He was evacuated to Jerusalem’s Hadassah Ein Kerem Trauma Unit and immediately placed under anaesthesia.

His injuries was repaired in early June, but the Jerusalem hospital did not release the results for another month.

The real incidence of internal decapitation is unknown because 70% of victims die instantaneously or while being transported to the hospital.

‘We struggled for the boy’s life,’ said Dr. Ohad Einav, one of the surgeons who operated on the patient.

Because blood supply to the brain must be conserved, the surgery is only possible if major blood vessels are still intact.

In a 17-year study of internal decapitations in children, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia recorded 16 of the injuries.

To treat the injury, rods, screws, plates, and possibly bone grafts are used to fuse the skull and spinal column together.

Dr Marc Siegel, Clinical Professor of Medicine and a practising internist at NYU Langone Medical Centre, as well as a Fox News commentator, described the procedure as “amazing.”

Dr. Einav, fortunately, had just returned from a residency in Toronto, where he had conducted the surgery on adults.

‘The treatment itself is highly intricate and took several hours,’ said Dr Einav. We used new plates and fixations in the injured area while in the operation room…

‘We were able to save the infant because of our understanding and the most cutting-edge technologies in the operating room.’

Patients will go through therapy after surgery to assist them regain neck movement.

Suleiman was released from the hospital with a cervical splint, and physicians will continue to monitor his recuperation.

He has no neurological abnormalities, sensory or motor impairment, and is able to walk without assistance.

Suleiman’s father, who would not leave his son’s bedside during his recuperation, remarked, “I will thank you all my life for saving my dear only son.” God bless you everyone.

‘Thanks to you, he was able to reclaim his life even though the odds were stacked against him and the risk was evident. Professionalism, technology, and swift decision-making by the trauma and orthopaedics team saved his life. All I have to say is thank you.’

Internal decapitation is three times more likely in children than in adults, according to a 2015 review study.

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