Boy whose skull was cut into four during surgery celebrates first 'normal' Christmas with family

“Miracle”: Liam Jarvis with father Rob and mother Debbie
Nigel Howard
Ross Lydall @RossLydall21 December 2018

The family of a boy whose skull was cut into four to save his life today told how they were looking forward to their first “normal” Christmas in two years.

Liam Jarvis was the first child to undergo the high-risk neurosurgery at King’s College Hospital after developing encephalitis and cerebral vasculitis after contracting the Influenza A virus.

The split decompressive craniotomy was carried out two days before Christmas 2016, and relieved dangerously high pressure in his brain.

Liam, now 15, suffered brain damage but his life was saved. Today his mother Debbie spoke for the first time of his survival and his long rehabilitation as he learns to walk and talk again.

Mrs Jarvis told the Standard: “This time two years ago he was in King’s. Over the Christmas period, we were on tenterhooks. Now we feel relieved and so happy we have still got Liam.

Four parts: Liam’s skull was divided to relieve pressure on his brain in 2016 (ES local feed )
ES local feed

“Obviously he is a different child to two years ago, but we have still got him. We are lucky we have got the NHS.

“He is looking forward to Christmas. He understands what has happened to him. He knows that Christmas is special for us now. We lost a year in 2016.

“The brain damage could have been more severe than it was. To the doctors he is a miracle.” Liam, who was 13 at the time, was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, in Woolwich, with encephalitis, a swelling of the brain. When his condition worsened he was placed in an induced coma and moved to King’s, in Denmark Hill.

Dr Akash Deep, who leads the paediatric critical care team at King’s, asked neurosurgeon Bassel Zebian if he would consider operating on Liam. Normally a craniotomy is only performed on trauma patients, or occasionally stroke victims. Unusually, the pieces of separated skull were not removed but left in place. Mr Zebian said: “There was a big feeling at the time he may not survive at all. We thought we would give him the best chance. He has done amazingly well.”

Liam — who has two brothers, Jarrod, 21, and Lewis, 13 — has 15 titanium clips holding his skull together.

He came out of surgery at 6.30am on Christmas Eve but was in the induced coma until January 9. On March 21 last year he left hospital to begin four months of intensive rehabilitation at The Children’s Trust, in Tadworth, Surrey.

He has been home in Bexleyheath for about a year and a half but life has only recently started to return to normal.

Mrs Jarvis said: “His walking is now fine, he is still having speech and language therapy in the community but he has made a lot of improvements. We are delighted with how much better he is — he is going to school.

“I can’t thank Dr Deep and his team enough. I know it was a risk to carry out the surgery — at the time Akash said it might not work, but we have got to try and I am so relieved that they did.”

Dr Deep said: “Liam is our miracle boy… It was the multi-disciplinary team effort from King’s, which included intensive care, neurosurgeons and neurorehabilitation teams, and importantly the trust Liam’s parents had in us which made the difference.”

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