The family of a 16-month-old boy in Australia has praised surgeons after they reattached his skull to his spine after he was partially decapitated in a car accident.
Jaxon Taylor was involved in a car accident, while being driven by his mother in New South Wales, which involved the family car being hit by a truck. Jaxon was immediately taken by air ambulance to Brisbane where doctors assessed his condition.
On inspection, it became clear to the doctors that Jaxon's skull had actually become separated from his spine, a life-threatening injury caused by the sheer force of the car being hit at 70 miles-per-hour. It was then that Dr. Geoff Askin, known as Australia's top spinal surgeon, was called in to take command of the operation to reattached Jaxon's skull to his spine.
The 6-hour surgery involved reattaching the vertebrae using wire and a piece of Jaxon's rib, he was then placed in a metal frame to avoid further damage. Askin noted that it was the worst injury of that kind he had ever come across and that this kind of injury would often be fatal, or at the very least cause long-term severe paralysis in the rest of the body.
Dr. Michael Yaszemski, who was also involved in the surgery, told reporters:
"It was a forward slippage [of the C1 on the C2 vertebrae] due to trauma. I agree with Dr. Askin that it's quite remarkable this spinal cord works at all. We often see these types of injuries on post-mortem exam because the arms and legs get paralyzed and the nerve that makes the diaphragm work comes off the spine and the patient can't breathe."
Yaszemski added that because Jaxon was so young, and his bones still comprised large amounts of malleable cartilage, this likely prevented an even more serious injury. Jaxon will now spend the next 8 weeks in a head-brace, making sure the injury heals correctly. He will also have multiple doctor appointments and follow-up check-ups to ensure that his injury is resolving itself.
[Based on reporting: IFL science]
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