NHS Titanium headset

[vbc]

Went for a check up last week, with the consultant neurosurgeon who operated on me at Frenchay Hospital after a nasty bike accident 18 months ago. We had a look at my latest scan and he wanted to show me the fracture to my skull which has left a hand sized portion displaced and not attached to the rest of my skull but held in pace by the scalp.

No problem health wise but he said that they could give me some cosmetic surgery to remove the displaced portion of skull and install a shaped titanium plate which would match the profile of my skull and return my head to its normal shape.

Not a big deal he assures me, a week in hospital, 6 to 8 weeks off work. The down side is that I might be subject to fitting after surgery and would need some drugs to combat that, I would probably have to surrender my driving license again for another year. He also said that there is a 5% chance of infection in this type of surgery but when the infection occurs, it can be quite nasty. As you can imagine, my wife isn't too keen on any further surgery!

But at least I could justify a new bike to match my skull implant!

 

[Chuffy]

Oooooooh, titanium....

That might not be the appropriate reaction under the circumstances but hey, I'm a cyclist!

 

[papercorn2000]

Oooooooh, titanium....

That might not be the appropriate reaction under the circumstances but hey, I'm a cyclist!

+1! Imagine if you could have all your bones replaced with Ti! How cool would that be?

(Sorry, not helpful under the circumstances)

 

[sloe]

In pharonic times they used to trepanne squares out of folk's skulls for some reason. And folk would live , for years after, and the bone would regrow and mesh the square back in with the rest of the skull.

Won't this happen with yours?

 

[Hugo15]

I had two bits of titanium inserted to stop my shoulder dislocating. The first thing I thought when the surgeon told me what he had used................. cool, that will match my bike!

 

[jonesy]

+1! Imagine if you could have all your bones replaced with Ti! How cool would that be?

(Sorry, not helpful under the circumstances)

Quite an 'upgrade'!

 

[papercorn2000]

Ooh, how good a climber would he be?

 

[longers]

Good luck with the op, if that's what you go for.

 

[Kirstie]

Wow.
My other half has titanium plates and screws at two points in his jaw. He's never had any problems with it - infections or anything like that. This is obviously a much bigger deal though. Good luck with the decision.

 

[vbc]

Maggot, the consultant is Dr Porter (or should that be Mr Porter if he's a consultant?).

When I came too after 3 weeks in hospital after my accident, I noticed the board over my bed had my name and underneath 'Porter' - I spent several minutes trying to tell the nurse that I wasn't a porter!

 

[Danny]

Wow - must be a scary decision to make. Is it worth asking for a second opinion? And do you know what the downside of doing nothing is, apart from having a funny shaped head?

As a matter of interest were you wearing a helmet when you crashed?

 

[vbc]

I've not been told of any downside if I decide against surgery but at the moment I have some discomfort on the injured side of my head and some persistent head aches, my skull also 'creaks' a bit when I'm moving my head or stretching etc and it can be quite awkward getting comfortable in bed.

I wasn't wearing a helmet at the time of my accident, which was unusual for me. Not hit by anything, think I just lost control in a country lane and became airborne just as the road dipped down to cross a brook. Landed very heavily on my left side.

 

[Baggy]

my skull also 'creaks' a bit when I'm moving my head or stretching etc and it can be quite awkward getting comfortable in bed.

Ooh, that sets my teeth on edge thinking about it.
Difficult decision to make, if there was a downside to not having it done it might make it a bit easier. Is there an option to have the surgery at any time if you decide not to now?

Your head doesn't look particularly mis-shapen from what I remember at the Exodus.

 

[spandex]

I have Titanium in my knee and my face from when I came off my bike last November and I am having lots of problems and pain now

 

[Will1985]

Maggot, the consultant is Dr Porter (or should that be Mr Porter if he's a consultant?).

Consultant Neurologist = Dr
Consultant Neurosurgeon = Mr