Four-year-old Maya* was severely injured in a car accident and airlifted to Rambam Health Care Campus (Rambam) in Haifa, Israel. For several days, her life hung in the balance. In a complex procedure using her own thigh tissue, Rambam’s multidisciplinary surgical team gave her a second chance at life.
After arriving at Rambam, Maya underwent neurosurgery to address her injuries and stabilize her condition. After the surgery, she was transferred to the Wagner Green Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Rambam’s Ruth Rappaport Children’s Hospital. The next few days were critical as the hospital’s multidisciplinary medical team fought to save her life.
“Maya arrived with a skull fracture resulting from an accident,” explains Professor Asaf Zeltzer, director of the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and part of the surgical team that turned her life around. “First, she underwent surgery led by Professor Mony Benifla, director of the Pediatric Neurosurgery Unit, to relieve intracranial pressure.” The surgery involved removing the shattered bone and a large foreign object pressing on her brain. Once Maya’s condition improved a second surgical procedure was performed. “We needed to cover the exposed area of her brain, giving her the best chances of recovering,” Zeltzer explains. Zeltzer led the second long, complex, and delicate microsurgery, in collaboration with Benifla, Dr. Mahmoud Zidan, and Dr. Hagit Ofir, senior physicians in the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Referred to in medical jargon as “flap surgery, the surgical team removed a layer of tissue and blood vessels from Maya’s thigh and transplanted it to the exposed area of her skull.
The successful surgery marked a turning point in her recovery. Once her condition had improved, Maya was discharged for rehabilitation. “Surgeries of this kind are uncommon,” explains Zeltzer, “and this was a significant challenge.” He adds, “Because of her age, Maya’s blood vessels are still small, and her injury caused significant damage to the tissue and blood vessels in the area.” To her physicians’ great joy, the procedure was successful and her recovery went well. Soon thereafter, she started speaking and moving. Although Maya still needs to undergo both functional and aesthetic surgeries, there is great hope for her future.
Upon discharge, Maya’s father said, “She has her life back. We are grateful to the medical team and appreciate their dedicated care. Thanks to them, our daughter is with us.”
*Name changed to protect her identity
Maya after surgery.
Photography: Rambam HCC