Half of the skull of a California woman was removed by surgeons after a sinus infection metastasized throughout her brain, leaving a huge dent in her head. The 25-year-old martial arts instructor has shown her cranial catastrophe in a TikTok video, which has over 7 million views.
Initially, doctors prescribed antibiotics to Natasha Gunther when she complained about a sinus infection. But as her symptoms got worse doctors had to perform emergency neurosurgery and removed half of her skull.
She had nearly five to six sinus infections since late last year and she went to a primary doctor who had prescribed her antibiotic medications.
"But it got so bad to the point that I was throwing up a lot and having horrible migraines."
Natasha's parents forced her for a CT scan and she got to know about the disease last December.
Surgeons removed Natasha's bone and discovered she had a massive build-up of strep and staphcaused by sinus infections as the mass had moved her brain 9mm to the right, according to The Mirror.
And later just two days before Christmas she underwent another surgery when surgeons removed half of her skull.
Nearly Fatal Condition
Medics removed nearly 12-14 cm of her skull and had put that into a freezer and she was in the hospital for five more weeks and later had sinus surgery.
If Natasha had not gone to the hospital for a week more, she could have died, according to her surgeons.
Natasha has advised people who have a sinus infection to go to ENT or a better hospital rather than relying on the primary doctor.
By next month, she is hoping to have another surgery to receive her original skull or a 3d print of the skull. "I'm waiting to get my skull put back in April this year"
Surgeons might use her previous skull which is kept inside the freezer or they could make a 3D print of her skull and use that. "I'm hoping to go back to normal life by the end of this year but it's been hard. My life is very different to what it used to be. I used to have a busy life teaching martial arts and hanging out with friends every day – like any person in their twenties."
