March 29, 2024

India’s First Skull Implantation Saved a 4-year-old Girl in Pune

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Implantation is a revolutionary word in the field of medical science now a days. With the help of science and technology medical science has developed significantly. It’s no more a challenge to people to survive without their own organ lost in accidents rather the availability of different parts or organs of human body makes their life easier.

60% of a four year old girl’s damaged skull got replaced with a customized three dimensional individualized polyethylene bone at Bharati Hospital in Pune, which is India’s very first successful skull implantation according to the doctors. The girl had an accident on May 31 last year and was discharged after two critical surgeries. She was further readmitted in the hospital on May this year for the implantation. According to pediatrician Dr. Jitendra Oswal, the CT scan revealed severe brain swelling with a fracture to the occipital bone ( the rear bone of the skull) that was slightly compressing over the brain. This had lead to edema (excess accumulation of fluid) in the different spaces of brain. Due to severe trauma her entire brain was pushed off centre which is medically termed as “midline shift of the brain”. The neurosurgeons Dr. Vishal Rokade and his team removed the girl’s full frontal as well as partial parietal and temporal bones which created a space to release the pressure on brain. Primarily it was impossible for the doctors to re-implant the brittle cranial bone due to the girl’s tender age. The cavities on the sides and back of her skull led her emotionally disturbed. After several research and consultation the surgeons went for a customized porous polyethylene bone that had been launched by that time by a US-based medical device company. According to the doctors polyethylene bones are bio-compatible and porous which allows normal tissue growth.

Finally, on May this year this polyethylene skull bone was implanted to the girl’s head. Her parents stated that now she is a healthy child and living quite a happy and normal life as others.

Other Language: Bengali

Image Credit: Flickr