UChicago Medicine doctors saved the life of a 2-year-old boy who suffered a catastrophic spinal injury that is not normally survived.
Two-year-old Oliver Staub is from Germany and if you saw him now, you might not realize how badly injured he was.
In April, while on vacation in Mexico, the Staub family’s minivan was hit by an armored vehicle. As a result, Oliver experienced “a complete disconnection or section of the spinal cord.”
“In addition, he suffered a complete fracture of the vertebrae,” said Dr. Mohamad Bydon.
As his mother described it, Oliver’s head was essentially not attached to his body internally. They were shocked and the doctors told him that he would probably die.
“Oliver will not survive, but he had a happy life,” recalls his father Stefan Staub. “He will not suffer anymore.”
But he survived for weeks and his parents began looking for options. They found Dr. Bydon at UChicago Medicine. He is a spinal cord specialist and a pioneer in stem cell therapy research.
“So we put together a great team of surgeons and doctors to help care for Oliver,” he said. “And we perform the surgery over two surgical days. In one day, we stabilize the back of the head and neck, and connect the neck to the head in what’s called an occipital cervical fusion.”
His father said that four or five weeks after the surgeries, Oliver started moving his hands. His mother said that with each passing day, he became more of himself, smiling and singing.
Oliver is now in Mexico. In about six months, after physical therapy, Oliver will be able to remove the neck brace.
