Why I needed a craniotomy and a craniectomy neurosurgery



Jerry Pank: My personal experience
I suffered a subdural hematoma (bleed on the brain) while at holiday in Switzerland. This followed a bump on the head from diving into a small swimming pool and hitting my head on the other side of the pool. The bleed was probably exacerbated by the fact that I was on a course of Clopidogrel, a strong anticoagulant to ensure my cardio stents did not re-block.

The morning after I bumped my head I suffered a severe epileptic fit. With the assistance of the staff and owners of the nearby Hotel Aspen, an ambulance was called and I was taken to Interlaken hospital. Mid-way through the journey, I suffered another epileptic fit and the ambulance crew decided to call a helicopter as a quicker way to complete the journey.

At Interlaken, a CT scan was taken. I then had a third epileptic fit. The doctors at Interlaken thought it would be in my best interest if the operation was carried out at Bern Medical Centre, so another helicopter was called.

At Bern they took another CT scan and then performed a craniotomy. ''The scalp is opened, the skull around the problem area is removed, the bleed resolved and the bone-flap is screwed back onto the skull and the scalp is closed. In my case using 62 staples.''

The operation was successful and I was repatriated to the Darent valley hospital, UK accompanied by a nurse. The journey was by ambulance to Belp, Skyworks turboprop to London City Airport and ambulance to our local hospital. Thank you Allianz!

After 4 days in my local hospital, the staples were removed and I was declared fit and discharged. I was fine for around 2.5 weeks until the incision began to get more inflamed and sore. Not knowing what I've since learned, I left this for a few days until it started to seep quite badly. One morning I felt quite unwell and when I discovered my temperature was 39° Celsius (102.2° Fahrenheit) I went to to Accident & Emergency. They performed another CT scan and the results transmitted to King's College Hospital who asked that I be transferred to them immediately for another operation.

A craniectomy was performed at King's, where the bone flap was removed and discarded in case it was the source of the sepsis. The infected area was drained and flushed and the scalp closed using sutures placed wide apart to allow further drainage. During my stay I was given large amounts of Intravenous antibiotics. A PICC line was fitted to enable local nurses to administer Intravenous antibiotics at home and I was discharged from Kings. The District nurses visited morning and evening for six weeks to administer the antibiotic drip.

I was told that 6 to 8 months after the craniectomy a titanium plate will be fitted so I won't need to wear my protective helmet any more.

Maxillofacial Surgery (cosmetic reconstruction)
Two months after the craniectomy I received an outpatients appointment for Kings College Hospital's Maxillofacial Surgery department. Somewhat confusing as the letter is headed Dental Hospital and makes no reference to cosmetic surgery following a craniectomy, however, Maxillofacial Surgery is the branch of medicine that encompasses cranial reconstruction.

24/1/2014: Four months after the craniectomy, I have seen a consultant: the highly qualified and extremely personable Mr Rob Bentley. It appears that a titanium plate will resolve most of the current pain problems and should also make an improvement on the pressure headaches. He says that is able to perform the operation imminently, however, due to an acute bed shortage within King's College Hospital, he does not expect to be able to operate until 8 to 10 months time. That seems a very long time to be in a crash helmet - so much for the UK health service.

Thank you Bupa
My partner has Bupa cover which includes spouses, a few telephone calls confirmed that the cranioplasty could be carried out under this agreement, and even better, by the same maxillofacial surgeon from King's College; Robert Bentley, using the same titanium reconstructive plate fashioned by King's College.

The operation was successfully carried out under Bupa at The Harley Street Clinic, Weymouth Street, London W1 on my day of admission. The operation lasted 4 hours and following an uneventful day's recovery in the critical care unit and a further day's monitoring, Rob Bentley removed the drain, answered all of my queries and I was then discharged with an appointment to return in two weeks to have staples removed. The pressure headaches have completely disappeared, and what might seem a trivial advance, I can now bend over without suffering a migraine.

Michael Schumacher - similar brain operation
On Sunday 29th December 2013, Michael Schumacher hit his head on a rock whilst skiing in Meribel, France. Even though he was wearing a helmet, it seems the injury was more serious than first anticipated. We have something in common! He was moved from hospital to hospital by helicopter, finally receiving treatment at a University Hospital Centre Hospital du Grenoble (CHU), in Michael's case, where he was operated on and he was kept in an induced coma. Currently no further information has been issued, it is likely that he has had a subdural hematoma, requiring a craniotomy to relieve the pressure on the brain. Get well soon Schuey.

31st January 2014
On Friday 31st January, more than one month following the first operation, press were reporting (from reliable sources), that he is “responding to instructions” as medics gradually bring him out of his coma and that he has responded positively during brain tests.

22nd April 2014
Newspaper report [Telegraph Uk 22/04/2014], Michael Schumacher has now lost 19 kilos (3 stones) since he has been in an induced coma. Dr Kurt Diehm, a coma expert, added that this is normal for patients held in a coma. The hospital say he is now officially in the "wake-up" phase in an attempt to bring him out of his coma, although signs of recovery have been minimal so far. It does not sound great news as doctors have reportedly told the Schumacher family that his chances of recovery are minimal.

16th June 2014
"Michael has left the CHU Grenoble to continue his long phase of rehabilitation. He is not in a coma anymore," Schumacher's manager, Sabine Kehm, said in a statement on behalf of his family on Monday.

"For the future we ask for understanding that his further rehabilitation will take place away from the public eye," she said, without specifying where Schumacher had been taken to.

Relatives have previously warned that "it was clear from the start that this will be a long and hard fight for Michael".

19th November 2014
Former F1 racing driver and a good friend of Michael, Philippe Streiff, who has been wheelchair-bound since a racing accident in Brazil in 1989 told French radio: "It's very difficult. He can't speak. Like me, he is in a wheelchair, paralysed. He has memory problems and speech problems".

Michael's physician, Dr Jean-Francois Payen said: "I would say give him time. It's like other patients, we are in a timescale that ranges from one year to three years, so it takes patience.