A New York man collapsed as he revealed he had to have his skull removed for a fourth time so surgeons could wash his brain.
Brandon Alexander has had to deal with repeated skull surgeries after suffering his first brain injury in October 2019, while all he remembers is leaving his house on a skateboard.
In the years since, he has undergone a number of brain and facial reconstruction surgeries, but one procedure in September went wrong because it left him with a large swelling above his left eye when an infection filled his head with fluid.
He was rushed to hospital after he started feeling his ‘heartbeat in his head’.
In a TikTok Filmed on the day he found out he had to undergo a fourth skull removal, Alexander said his “life was turned upside down” and broke down as he admitted the procedure felt like going back to “square one” in his recovery.
Brandon Alexander suffered a traumatic brain injury in October 2019, starting a medical battle that has seen him undergo four skull removals and a number of facial reconstructions
The New Yorker was rushed to hospital after surgery in September during which he suffered a post-operative site infection under his artificial skull.
When Alexander suffered his first brain injury, he says he has no memory of the moment his life was turned upside down, only that he woke up in the hospital three days later.
After four years of surgeries and work as an advocate for traumatic brain injuries, he underwent another surgery on his artificial skull in September, which left him with massive swelling above his left temple.
He said in one TikTok that the surgery on September 20 was to lift the skin and muscles of the left side of his face to raise his eyebrow and reduce tension on his brain.
Although he suffered significant bruising, the operation was initially thought to be a success, but over the course of eight days he gradually deteriorated.
He said the turning point came during a dinner he had with his girlfriend Julia, where he started to feel “really s*****” but put this down to stopping pain medication.
When Alexander woke up the next morning, he knew something was wrong because he could feel his heartbeat in his head as he suffered from nausea and dizziness.
‘It felt like my brain was doing backflips and I could hear my heartbeat in my head. “I tried to sleep, but I couldn’t,” he said.
He was rushed to NYU Hospital in Manhattan, where doctors diagnosed him with a postoperative site infection under his artificial skull.
“They thought I was having a stroke, so they rushed me to get a CT scan,” he said.
‘They discovered an infection under my artificial skull implant that was progressing rapidly and a junior doctor came in and told me I would need surgery.
“My girlfriend said she just saw my life falling apart because removing a skull means starting over, everything has to start over.”
Although his second most recent surgery was initially thought to be a success, Alexander said things took a turn for the worse with his girlfriend Julia at a restaurant.
He initially attributed his symptoms to stopping painkillers and said the bruising and yellow tinge were a sign of a good recovery.
After medics discovered that his brain surgery had left him with an infection, Alexander collapsed when he had to remove a skull for the fourth time so surgeons could wash his brain.
In the video filmed the day he found out he had to have the surgery, he cried when he noticed it was ‘finished’ again, poking the liquid mass that had formed on the side of his head .
“I’m trying to stay strong through this, but we’re starting over from the very beginning on this,” he added.
Doctors discovered that the main cause of the problem was a drain in his head that is normally removed, but was left on purpose because it was believed to aid recovery from facelift surgery.
However, the drain became infected, forcing surgeons to reopen his skull to wash his brain. The doctors completed the procedure by placing 89 staples in his head.
In a surprising admission about his close shave that resulted in death, Alexander said doctors told him that if he had gone back to sleep after waking up dizzy, he might never have woken up again.
“I don’t have a skull now, but they replaced my skull with a titanium mesh so it can act as a skull until I have my next brain surgery in April 2024,” he said.
‘On November 21st my course of antibiotics ended and now I have to wait six months to a year for a new skull as they want to make sure the infection is completely cleared before I can get a new skull and ear implant.
‘If all goes according to plan, I now have two more operations to go, one to repair my head and face, and a new implant.’