X-ray shows how surgeons rebuilt a motorcyclist's face using 13 metal plates and 52 screws
- Andy Robinson, 48, collided with a friend while off-road biking last year
- Paramedics fought to save his life as he stopped breathing three times
- He broke bones in his face while his eye socket and chin were damaged
- Scan showed the complex process surgeons used to rebuild his face
- The only noticeable sign he had surgery is a click when he opens his mouth
Stephen Matthews For Mailonline
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This shocking X-ray shows exactly how surgeons rebuilt the face of a father-of-two who suffered devastating injuries in a motorcycle accident.
Andy Robinson’s skull was left looking like a dot-to-dot drawing after medics used 13 metal plates and 52 screws to restore his face.
The 48-year-old, from Lancashire, suffered horrific injuries when he collided with a friend while off-road biking in May last year.
Paramedics fought to save his life as he stopped breathing three times and required an emergency blood transfusion at the scene.
This shocking X-ray image shows how surgeons used 13 metal plates and 52 screws to rebuild Andy Robinson’s face following a devastating motorcycle accident which nearly killed him
His left eye socket was moved by an inch by the force of the crash, while his chin was crushed and his nose almost severed.
Mr Robinson also sustained nerve damage to his right arm, broke his ribs and a number of bones in his face.
One of his legs was fractured in 15 different places from the knee downwards and needed to be pinned back together with screws, rods and wires.
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Mr Robinson revealed his wife was told to ‘expect the worst’ and paramedics told his friends they were ‘pretty certain’ he wouldn’t make it to hospital.
He added: ‘The doctors said that if it wasn’t for the blood on the air ambulance I wouldn’t be here today.
‘My chest was so full of blood that my lungs wouldn’t inflate, so they had to push two holes into my ribcage and squeeze all the blood out, then give me a transfusion right there on the forest floor.’
The only noticeable sign the 48-year-old from Lancashire had the major surgery is a click when he opens his mouth
He was in so much pain that he had to be given the horse tranquiliser ketamine because morphine was not strong enough.
After being transported to hospital, he spent two weeks in a coma – which he has no recollection of.
Mr Robinson didn’t look in the mirror, so he never knew how bad his facial injuries were.
It wasn’t until a checkup, after coming home from hospital, that he saw an X-ray of his skull.
The scan showed the complex network of screws and plates used by surgeons to rebuild his face.
However a year on, the only noticeable sign he had the major surgery is a click when he opens his mouth.
A 3D scan showed the complex network of screws and plates used by surgeons during an operation to rebuild his face
Mr Robinson is now appealing for more people to come forward and give blood in an attempt to save more lives.
He said: ‘The more people that donate the better. Blood donation saved my life.
‘I do stand back and remember that I’m only here thanks to blood given by strangers.
‘I now help promote blood donation, because the NHS needs new donors, especially those who are O negative.
‘They are known as universal donors; their blood can be given to anyone, regardless of blood group, which is crucial in an accident like mine, when there is no time to do a test.’
Mr Robinson also praised his wife Sharon, who he claims is now ‘top of the tree’ in their family.
An X-ray of Mr Robinson’s right elbow joint shows metal work holding the joint together following his horrific crash in May last year
He added: ‘Before this happened, I thought I was the man of the family. Now it is obvious that my wife is top of the tree.
‘She showed incredible resilience while I was unconscious – for four days, they couldn’t tell her if I would live or die.
‘She went through all that trauma while looking after our two kids.
‘I’ll never go off-road biking again, and my 10-year-old boy isn’t allowed his kids’ motorbike any more.
‘But every now and then I’ll be driving through the countryside and I’ll pass a track weaving off into the mountains, and I’ll get this ache in my chest.
‘It’s the urge to get my gloves and boots back on and find out where it goes.’
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