A martial arts instructor in the US has been left with half a skull after a sinus infection spread to her brain.
Natasha Gunther, 25 years old martial arts instructor from California is now living with a half skull due to an unchecked metastasized sinus infection spread around her brain.
Natasha was forced to have surgery to remove 5.5inches of bone (14cm) to stop a mass pressing against her brain. She claimed doctors told her she would be dead in a week without the surgery.
“Surgeons told me I would have been dead within a week if I hadn’t gone to the hospital when I did,” - Natasha told News Dog Media.
Natasha, is now left with a huge dent in her head and is bravely sharing her story on TikTok to raise awareness about the seriousness of sinus infections. She detailed her cranial catastrophe in a harrowing video with over 7 million views on TikTok.
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| Gunther’s parents eventually forced their daughter to get a CT scan after she started “throwing up a lot and having horrible migraines.” @natasha_gunther/News Dog Media |
The judo black belt instructor teaches martial arts to kids, so she is used to getting colds. But she became concerned when her condition did not improve, despite being given antibiotics from her doctor. It was her fifth or sixth sinus infection in late December.
Ms Gunther complained of a stuffy nose and blocked sinuses with migraines and vomiting, which prompted her family to pressure her to get a CT scan.
On 12 December the scan revealed a mass inside her skull, which forced doctors to cut out part of the bone on the right side of her head to relieve pressure on the brain.
Ms Gunther, who has to wear a helmet now, to protect her brain, was then booked in for a full craniectomy on 23 December to have the right side of her skull removed.
Gunther has to wear a helmet to protect her brain.@natasha_gunther/News Dog Media
Doctors have saved the skull bone removed during the surgery and it is being stored in a freezer until an operation in the next month or so to replace it within her head. She spent five weeks in hospital and also had two rounds of surgery on her sinuses.
“In total, they removed 12 to 14 cm of my skull and put it into a freezer” said Gunther. “I stayed in the hospital for another five weeks, and also had further sinus surgery.”
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Now she hopes to get the skull fragment refitted by April. If this fails, doctors will be forced to 3-D print a replica of the component and insert that instead.
This medical surgery has made Gunther's life difficult. Now, she will not be able to do some martial arts moves such as grappling where you grip or seize your opponent ever again.
Ms Gunther warns people to go see an ear, nose, and throat specialist if they have repetitive sinus problems and not to rely solely on their primary care doctor or general practitioner.
"If you have more than one sinus infection per year or even just a sinus infection, please go to the hospital or the ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic in the US) just to be safe.
"she says.
Speaking about her life after the surgery, Ms Gunther said: '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.
'When I came out of surgery, I struggled to talk so I've been having regular speech therapy since then.
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| Gunther practiced martial arts in the days before her life-changing operation. @natasha_gunther/News Dog Media |
'My boyfriend Joao who is also a martial arts instructor has been doing a lot of physical therapy so I can get my energy back in my body.
Gunther with Joao at the hospital @natasha_gunther/News Dog Media
'But there are some martial arts moves like grappling that will be too risky for me to ever do again.'
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