Khaberni - A young Lebanese doctor achieved a remarkable medical feat in Chicago, described in American medical circles as a "miracle," after saving the life of a child who was not expected to survive.
Lebanese doctor Mohamed Beidoun, born in the United States and head of the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Chicago Medicine and his team, succeeded in reattaching the head of a two-year-old child after it was almost completely detached from the spine, in one of the most complicated surgeries in the history of modern medicine.
Beidoun said, "The story began when the American child Oliver Stob, just two years old, was on a trip with his family from the United States to Mexico. During the trip, a horrific car accident occurred, causing minor injuries to the parents, while the child suffered a fatal injury and experienced an almost complete detachment between the skull and the spinal column."
He added, "In most cases, this type of detachment leads to immediate death due to spinal cord tears and cutting off the nerve signals between the brain and the rest of the body. Even in the rare cases where the patient survives, complete paralysis or cessation of breathing is an inevitable outcome."
Beidoun explained: "All indicators confirmed the impossibility of saving the child. The doctors who examined the case before transferring him to Chicago agreed that the chances of survival were nonexistent, and that the best option was to remove life support and donate his organs. But I saw something else," as he told 'Sky News Arabia'.
Beidoun continued: "I am a father of two, and I felt like this child was one of them. In such moments, you don't think about probabilities, but about the determination to give life one last chance."
According to Beidoun, the child Oliver underwent two successive surgical operations, each lasting several hours, to reattach the skull to the spinal column.
Beidoun detailed those critical moments, saying: "The challenges were enormous, as any miscalculated movement could lead to immediate death. We used precise techniques to secure the vertebrae while maintaining blood supply to the brain. It required concentration beyond description and full cooperation among all team members."
After months of rehabilitation, Oliver became able to walk, talk, and play, and he gradually returned to his normal life.
American media described what happened as a "medical miracle by all measures," noting that the operation opened new horizons for understanding the human brain's ability to adapt after severe spinal cord injuries.
