Patient recounts 16-hour brain surgery where surgeons accidentally dropped his skull
Tom Park-Paul, a 34-year-old gym-goer, suffered a ruptured arteriovenous malformation (AVM) in 2017, initially misdiagnosed as a bruised spine. After his partner, an ICU nurse, insisted on a CT scan, a massive brain bleed was discovered. He underwent a complex 16-hour surgery to remove the AVM, during which surgeons accidentally dropped his skull on the floor. The skull was cleaned and reinserted with antibiotic treatment. Park-Paul recovered, though he retains some proprioception issues in his left foot, and now views the incident with humor.
