Afghan expat in UAE feels ‘born again’ after near-fatal car crash

Dubai: An Afghan expat recently survived a near-fatal car accident, thanks to a four-hour surgical intervention that contained haemorrhage in one of the most important blood vessels in his brain.

Dr Khaldoun Osman, consultant neurosurgeon (spinal microsurgery) at Saudi German Hospital in Dubai, said the patient, Nasser Ahmad Ghani Zada, who is in his mid-40s, had a large epidural hematoma following the road accident.

Zada recovered immediately after the surgery and his medical condition is now stable without any complications. He said: “I am grateful for the great efforts made by the doctors at the Saudi German Hospital, especially Dr Osman. I felt like I was born again.”

An epidural hematoma is a collection of blood between the skull and the outermost protective membrane covering the brain. Zada’s blood artery was torn after his skull was fractured during the accident.

“The large epidural hematoma was pressing on the forebrain and there was a complex injury to the skull with various fractures up to the base of the skull and the patient had a prominent frontal wound of 5cm,” Dr Osman told Gulf News.

How the surgery was done

Dr Osman said: “After initial stabilisation, the patient was immediately transferred to the operating room and a craniotomy [surgery to cut an opening in the skull] was urgently performed to relieve the hematoma.

“The frontal sinuses were then cleaned and filled with live peritoneum [thin plastic tube] to prevent leak of cerebrospinal fluid [the saltwater that surrounds and cushions the brain and spinal cord]. The multiple bony parts were connected together and repaired after lifting the dura [brain connective tissue] to prevent any possible accumulation of fluids over the brain,” he continued.

“The operation was performed in record time. The patient was photographed, diagnosed and operated within four hours, which helped save the patient and avoided complications that almost killed him.”

Precise intervention

Dr Osman explained Zada’s injuries affected the skull and are associated with a high risk of meningitis and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak from the nose. “This was avoided by rapid and precise surgical intervention,” he said.

“During the operation, it was found that the superior sagittal sinus was damaged, which is one of the largest blood vessels in the brain. If it was exposed to any damage, it would have been fatal. We had to intervene very accurately and quickly.”