MORE ABOUT TANIA BOOYSENS’ SURGERY

Doctor Rene Lekolane, a specialist neurosurgeon at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, tells YOU scans showed Tania had sustained a single injury: a tangential gunshot wound to the back of her head.

Wounds are categorised as tangential when they go through the skin and skull without touching or damaging the brain. Bullet fragments were lodged in the midline at the back of her skull.

“The occipital bone [the back part of the skull] was fractured with fragments pushing down on the skull,” says Dr Lekolane, who was part of the team who operated on Tania.

The gunshot caused a clot, which posed a threat to the function of the sagittal sinus, which is also located at the back of the head.

The sagittal sinus is a big vein responsible for draining blood from the brain. When impaired, it can result in brain swelling.

The day after Tania was admitted to Groote Schuur she had a procedure to remove the clot, followed immediately by surgery to extract the bullet and remove pieces of fractured bone.

“We were then able to repair the tear in the sinus caused by the bullet,” Dr Lekolane says.

The two procedures lasted four hours each and the teen was then taken to the neurocritical care unit to recover.

Dr Andrew AppiahBaiden, a specialist neurosurgeon at Groote Schuur, tells YOU Tania survived because the bullet didn’t penetrate her brain. “It all depends on how far the bullet has travelled. Not everyone who experiences a gunshot wound to the head has a tangential injury,” he adds.

Because the operation was a resounding success, she will make a full recovery.