Skull stitched in abdomen to save holidaymaker

Last updated at 13:31 25 October 2004


A man who suffered life-threatening injuries in a holiday accident was today recovering at home after undergoing an operation to stitch part of his skull into his abdomen.

Chris D'Arts, 26, of Dereham, Norfolk, was knocked unconscious when he fell 12ft from a wall while holidaying with his girlfriend, Claire Living, 20, in the Turkish resort of Marmaris.

To relieve the enormous pressure of bleeding on his skull surgeons decided to remove part of the bone and stitch it into his abdomen so that it could be reattached when the fracture heals.

Mr D'Arts said: "I wasn't expected to survive.

The doctors told my girlfriend that I had to have the operation to save my life but there was only a one in five chance that I would survive."

Within 24 hours his parents had flown out to Turkey to be by his bedside.

Mr D'Arts said he does not remember anything of the four days following the accident, which happened on September 16.

Three weeks later Mr D'Arts, who works as a supermarket manager, was well enough to fly back home.

He is now on his way to making a full recovery and said the tennis-ball-sized disc of misplaced bone does not cause him too much discomfort.

"I don't really notice it. Obviously I can't drive or drink and I have to be accompanied if I go outside, but other than being a bit swollen I don't find it particularly debilitating," he said.

He has nothing but praise for the care he received in Turkey which he described as "superb".

He is now due to see a neurologist at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge to decide when the piece of skull should be reattached.

"I am feeling much better. I am well on the way to recovery but it would be good to get back to work," he said.

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