I have been sitting right on the edge of my seat and feel as wiped out as the surgeons must have felt like. These surgeries were absolutely works of art by medical magicians. The fact that they could plan out such an intricate surgery to buy this young man a little bit more time is commendable. This is what real medicine is about. Hard to believe that some docs spend their careers giving botox shots and changing breast sizes – how can they gain anything but great financial satisfaction from that. What these fellows do allows them to sleep well at night and know that they have earned that sleep. The world is a much better place for people such as this. As for the young patient, listening to what they did during the scheduled procedure and searching my brain for anatomy classes taught several decades ago, makes me believe that this could possibly be his last intervention (scheduled). With the work done to his carotid artery, he will probably need to wear a soft neck brace for the rest of his life to protect his carotid artery. He may even need to wear a bike helmet to protect the thinned out bones of his head and face – and the possibility of seizures could exist. His hearing may have been affected due to the work on his eustachian tube and his ability to speak may also be impaired.. All in all, it is not a good situation and he is living on borrowed time – that has been given to him by these good docs. If I or any member of my family were ever, God forbid, in such a situation, I could only wish for doctors with these skills and compassion.