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Elizabeth Cheung

Fred Lai

A patient who has been waiting 10 months for surgery to fix his collapsed skull still did not know on Monday when this would happen, even though the public hospital involved contacted him following media reports about his predicament.
Mr Wu, 24, had part of his skull removed by doctors at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Yau Ma Tei to relieve pressure after he was involved in a car accident on July 30 last year.
Chinese farmer fitted with 3D-printed skull ‘makes full recovery’ after surgery
Wu said the hospital called him on Monday morning, saying they would follow up on his case, but no date for surgery was given.
“I’m not satisfied with the hospital’s answer. I’m not trying to jump the queue. I just want to know when I can have the surgery,” Wu said.
A spokesman for the hospital said doctors had applied for a time slot to perform carnioplasty – surgery to repair a patient’s skull – in February, when Wu showed improvement to his brain and cognitive functions.
Doctors also explained to Wu that skull surgery was not urgent, which meant there would be a longer waiting time.
The part of Wu’s skull that was removed was refrigerated prior to an operation to reinsert it in his head.
The hospital’s department of neurosurgery handles more than 1,000 surgical cases each year. In face of increasing demand, one more weekly time slot has been added for neurosurgery in the 2016/17 annual plan.
Dr Hung Wai-man, a private neurosurgeon, said there was no absolute guideline on when to restore a skull.
“Usually it takes around six months to wait ... It depends on whether wounds in the brain have recovered and the patient’s actual condition,” Hung said, adding that healing usually took longer following a car accident.
He also said calcium in the skull would break down after being refrigerated for a long time, leading to a thinner skull. Infection might also be more likely, he said.
Wu was first told surgery could be performed in August when he had his second medical appointment in February. But the doctor did not give him an exact date for the procedure at his third appointment in May.
Wu quit his job after the accident and is now relying on social security payments.
“Because my skull collapsed, I cannot do anything but stay at home,” he said.
The long wait drove him to attempt suicide twice, which prompted doctors to treat him for mental health issues at Kwai Chung Hospital. He was diagnosed with a mental disorder and autism.
Wu now hopes the operation can happen in August. The alternative is the fitting of an artificial skullcap in a private hospital at a cost of up to HK$200,000.


He’s been living with a collapsed skull for 10 months - and still doesn’t have a surgery date

Wu explains his predicament to journalists. Photo: Edmond So

News

Hong Kong

Health & Environment

Mr Wu injured his skull in a traffic accident in July last year but was told his case was not urgent
