That thing you see in this person’s abdomen is part of her skull.
The abdomen in question belongs to former “Mrs. Idaho” Jamie Hilton. Back in June, Hilton was involved in a devastating accident, and had to undergo emergency brain surgery. In the process, her doctors removed 25% of her skull so that her severely swollen brain would have room to return to its normal size. Fully intending to reattach the skull fragment later, Hilton’s doctors stowed it away inside her stomach, where her body would keep it nourished until she was ready to have it reattached.
In the weeks ahead, Hilton recovered marvelously, all while missing a full quarter of her skull. She wore a helmet to help prevent further injury.By mid-July, Hilton’s swelling had subsided enough for doctors to remove the fragment from her abdomen and put it back in place with the aid of some titanium screws and plates. It’s been over two months since her second surgery, and seems to be doing incredibly well, telling the New York Post that the only lasting effect seems to have been a change in her tastebuds and the loss of her sense of smell.
As for her head, it’s back to its normal shape, albeit with a pretty awesome-looking scar.
You can read more about Hilton’s remarkable healing process over on her blog, where she and her husband have catalogued the entire ordeal. For more information on the surgery that Hilton had performed (decompressive hemicraniectomy), check out this post by Bradley Voit, who wrote about the procedure in detail when Congresswoman Gabby Giffords had it performed back in January 2011.
(via lickypickystickyme)
