A MUM has shared how her son needed to have part of his skull removed and stitched to his back after he complained of headaches.
Worried parents Krissie Thatcher and Dave Allon were told their teenage son Warrick had a 50 per cent chance of survival after he suffered a rare brain aneurysm.
The 15-year-old was rushed into emergency surgery after he collapsed at the family’s home in Andover, Hampshire.
His worried parents were told to prepare for the worst surgeons would try and reduce the immense pressure in his skull following a brain haemorrhage.
The operation also saw medics remove part of Warrick’s skull – which was stitched into his back during surgery to allow for the swelling around the brain to reduce and to preserve the bone.
Mum Krissie said: “I will remember that moment forever.
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“We asked what Warrick’s chances of survival were and were told it was 50/50.
“It all happened so quickly but I remember telling his surgeon, Mr Chakraborty, that my boy wasn’t going to die.
“It wasn’t denial, it was determination – he wasn’t going to die that day.”
The teen miraculously survived and despite initially being unable to speak or walk, he has now recovered and even returned back to school part-time.
Aabir Chakraborty, a neurosurgeon at Southampton Children’s Hospital, led the team in the emergency operation that involved draining fluid that was surrounding the brain and removing the blood clot and some of the abnormal vessels that had caused the haemorrhage.
He said: “I could see that this was an unusually large blood clot that had caused considerable pressure around Warrick’s brain stem, the lower part of the brain that is connected to the spinal cord.
“I was very concerned that he was at high risk of imminent brain death, and so it was imperative we got him into surgery as quick as possible.
“He had an excessive amount of bleeding which made this a difficult operation to perform.
“The first task was to insert an external ventricular drain, a device which allows for the drainage of excess fluid on the brain, in the front of his skull to reduce the pressure in his head.
“Once we had secured the drain, we continued with tackling the blood clot which involved removing a part of Warrick’s skull to help reduce the swelling at the back of his head.
“We were forced to remove some of the abnormal blood vessels as they were bleeding profusely.”
Warrick’s Dad, Dave Allon said: “We can’t thank Mr Chakraborty and the amazing team at Southampton Children’s Hospital enough.
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“What they have done is nothing short of miraculous, they didn’t just save his life, they have returned him home to us and we will be forever grateful for that.”
Warrick underwent another two operations and is now continuing his outpatient rehabilitation programme, aiming of taking his GCSE exams and attending college next year.
