Israeli surgeons saved a 12-year-old Palestinian boy last month, successfully reattaching his head to his neck in a high-tech advanced procedure after it had been internally decapitated.
The boy, Suleiman Hassan, was airlifted from the West Bank to Hadassah Medical Center in Ein Kerem after he reportedly got hit by a car while riding his bike.
Doctors determined that the ligaments holding the posterior base of his skull were severely damaged, leaving it detached from the top vertebrae of his spine, as reported by the Times of Israel.
“The most significant and main injury suffered by the boy was a fracture in the connection between the head and neck, along with a tear of all the ligaments,” explained Dr. Ohad Einav, a specialist with Hadassah orthopedic department, according to Jewish Business News. “Due to the serious injury, the head [was] almost completely detached from the base of the neck.”
Einav performed the surgery alongside Dr. Ziv Asa in early June, the Times reported.
Hassan’s injury is known as bilateral atlanto occipital joint dislocation, or simply as internal or orthopedic decapitation.
Due to its high mortality rate, the condition is extremely rare, especially among children.
“After a thorough examination of his condition, we decided to perform surgery during which we reconnected the skull to the spine,” Einav said, JBN reported. “We fought for the boy’s life, a large operating room team, including operating room nurses and anesthesiologists, followed by the intensive care and surgical department team.”
Suleiman Hassan, a Palestinian 12-year-old boy, was hit by a car while riding his bicycle. The ligaments holding the posterior base of his skull were severely damaged, leaving it detached from the top vertebrae of his spine.
In an extremely rare and complex operation, surgeons… pic.twitter.com/yHPLNPAzDB
— Yonatan Gonen (@GonenYonatan) July 7, 2023
According to Einav, the injury has a 50 percent chance of mortality — though JBN put that number closer to 70 percent.
“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,” he said, according to JBN.
“It was precisely because of such cases that I chose to specialize in trauma. Our ability to save the child thanks to the most innovative knowledge and technology in the operating room is immensely satisfying. That’s the goal of all of us in the trauma complex.
“Fortunately, the operation was a great success and we saved the boy’s life,” Einav added.
Hassan has since been discharged from the hospital but will remain under observation by hospital staff, Einav said.
“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,” Einav said, marveling at the boy’s miraculous recovery.
“This is not a common surgery at all, and especially not on children and teens. A surgeon needs knowledge and experience to do this,” Einav said, crediting his training in Toronto for preparing him to operate on Hassan.
Hassan’s father, who stayed at his son’s side the entire time, thanked the hospital staff for saving the boy’s life.
“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,” he told the hospital, according to the Times. “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.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
