British teenage holidaymaker fighting for life after horrific quad bike crash in Turkey

By Sara Malm

Published: 15:48 EST, 12 July 2012 | Updated: 03:10 EST, 13 July 2012


A British teenager is fighting for his life in a Turkish hospital following a horrific quad-bike accident.

Muhammed Mubashir Sultan, 19, suffered severe head and facial injuries after losing control of the quad-bike he had rented for the day.

Turkish neuro-surgeons battled for six hours to save the his life and even removed part of his skull and stored it in his stomach until swelling to his damaged brain subsides.

Marmaris, where the accident happened, is a popular destination for holidaying Brits

Marmaris, where the accident happened, is a popular destination for holidaying Brits

The accident happened last week in the popular tourist resort of Marmaris, Turkey.

Mr Sultan, and three of his friends had rented quad-bikes and were racing on a busy dual carriageway in the seaside resort.

Elaine Johnson, 32, from London, said: ‘They were racing each other and weaving in and out of the traffic. They were going extremely fast.’

Local Turkish TV reported that Mr Sultan lost control of his bike and hit the central reservation then flew across the opposite carriageway and crashed into a parked mini-bus.

Despite wearing a helmet Mr Sultan suffered extensive head and facial injuries. Paramedics raced to the scene and transported him to the town's private Ahu Hetman hospital.

Marmaris on the coast of Turkey

Neurosurgeon Sukru Sukruoglu worked through the night to stabilise Mr Sultan using a pioneering new technique to relieve pressure between his bruised and swollen brain and his skull.

Dr Sukruoglu removed part of Mr Sultan's skull to relieve the intercranial pressure from the swelling caused by the injury.

Then he inserted the piece of skull into Mr Sultan's stomach through an incision in his abdomen and sewed it into the subcutaneous tissue.

The new technique is used to keep the skull moist as its viability is maintained by the body until it's ready to be replaced.

In the past, pieces of skull were sterilised and kept in air tight bags before being frozen but the new method carries less risk of contamination.

The skull flap can remain in the abdomen for anything from six to 20 weeks until the swelling has subsided and it can be replaced.

A spokeswoman for the Ahu Hetman Hospital said that Mr Sultan's condition remained critical.

His family have flown out to be at his bedside but declined to comment today.