Doctors replace part of teen’s skull after crash
A McKinney teenager is thankful to be back to living a normal life after a head injury nearly killed him in a car crash over spring break.
McKINNEY, Texas – A McKinney teenager is thankful to be back to living a normal life after a head injury nearly killed him in a car crash over spring break.
Trevor Dutton’s crash happened while he and his five best friends and their moms were traveling home from a spring break trip to Seaside, Florida. He was asleep, leaning against the car’s window.
“A man came over the hill, smashed into the side of the car I was in,” he said.
“Neurosurgeons in Alabama saved his life by removing a portion of his skull, allowing the brain to swell and then heal,” said Dr. Shaad Bidwala, a neurosurgeon at Baylor Scott and White in Dallas.
After weeks in the hospital in Alabama, Dutton had a 14-hour ambulance ride back home to North Texas.
“His brain looks great after the surgery. He had been in a coma. To credit surgeons who saved his life in Alabama. He doesn’t have neurological deficits,” Dr. Bidwala said.
For two months, Dutton needed to wear a helmet to protect his brain where his skull was missing.
“When I looked in the mirror, it looked like a there was a crater in my head,” he said.
Doctors saved the piece of bone that was removed. But since a skull can’t be sterilized in high temperatures, Dutton needed a replacement.
“They were able to reconstruct a piece of bone that would fit exactly on Trevor’s defect,” Dr. Bidwala said.
According to Nancy Hariston, the founder and president of Medcad, the replacement is made out of a material called peak, which is a light biomedical plastic.
On Wednesday, Dutton met Hariston to thank her.
“We do hundreds of cases a year. First time a patient has said we want to thank you personally,” she said. I’ve thought about how cool it would be to have a patient come back and say thank you so much.”
Dutton is now fully recovered from his extensive injuries. He’s also thankful to be alive.
“Two to three weeks ago, I got baptized at my church,” he said. “I know God saved my life for me to save other people’s lives.
He’s attending Collin College with plans to go to Texas State University in the fall to study business.
