Scots mum given 3D printed skull after doctors remove half of her cranium to relieve pressure on brain

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Bionic supermum Morag MacRae’s kids think she’s even cooler than Iron Man after doctors gave her a new 3D printed skull.The mum-of-three, from Banchory, Aberdeenshire, had to have half her skull removed last October after falling dangerously ill while on a family holiday in Australia.

After experiencing sudden paralysis and losing the ability to speak, doctors diagnosed her with the rare condition meningoencephalitis and removed the top half of her skull to reduce the pressure in her head.In March surgeons at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary replaced the gaping hole in Morag’s head with a ceramic titanium plate which they rustled up on a 3D printer.

The 37-year-old, who had to learn to walk, talk and swallow again after her traumatic ordeal, has made a miracle recovery and is delighted to be her children’s bionic superhero.Morag, whose incredible story features in new BBC Scotland series Junior Doctors: Life on the Wards, said: “My children think their mum is pretty cool.

I’m now Robo-mum with the bionic skull. Thinking about what has happened to me and how far I’ve come just blows my mind.“Doctors still have no idea what caused the infection which caused my brain to swell but removing more than half my skull to let out the pressure in my head was the only option.“Usually they put the bone into your tummy to keep it safe and then re-attach it but they worried I might have a bone infection so they had to throw my skull away.“That’s when they decided to perform a cranioplasty and print me a new skull.