Kochi, Feb 26 (PTI) A 30-year old man got a new lease of life after a complicated 3D skull reconstructive surgery at a private hospital here as black fungus infection had damaged 75 per cent of his skull. The neurosurgical team at VPS Lakeshore Hospital here has performed the rare Post Mucormycosis, which the hospital claimed as one of the largest cranial implant reconstructions in the country and probably in Asia. The hospital conducted a very detailed 3D surgical reconstruction of the skull defect using a customised patient-specific titanium cranial implant. "The patient had earlier undergone an extensive skull bone removal due to a severe fungal infection. He also had a very prolonged treatment period after the surgery. But later after two years he was left with a huge skull defect with almost 75 per cent of the skull being removed following the devastating infection which resulted in a severe aesthetic deformity," the hospital said in a release. The surgery which lasted for more than three hours was led by Dr. Arun Oommen, Senior Consultant Neurosurgeon and Dr. Sudish Karunakaran, Senior Consultant and HOD — Neurosurgery. In this extremely rare procedure, the team surgically exposed the defect, removed the resorbed bone fragments, and reconstructed the entire region using the patient-specific titanium implant. Dr. C Anil (Associate Consultant Neurosurgeon), Dr. Ajay Kumar (Consultant Neurosurgeon), Dr. Francis Manavalan — Chief of Neuro Anaesthesia, and Dr. Anu (Consultant Anaesthetist) were also part of this procedure. The custom-made titanium implant created by Lucid implants, an international medical technology company, has now exactly restored the contour of the skull and face, restoring the patient"s appearance and function of protecting the skull, the hospital said. The company claims that this is the largest skull implant that they have created and can be the largest one in Asia till date. The hospital authorities also informed that there is a significant improvement in the patient"s quality of life post-surgery and is safe and back to normal life. The hospital said it was in 2020, the patient developed severe pneumonia and a severe fungal infection of the skull. It was evaluated and found out to be mucormycosis otherwise called Black fungus. The release said by the time it was diagnosed it had spread extensively over his skull. The patient underwent a major surgery at another hospital where almost 75 per cent of his skull was removed due to the fungal invasion. He later was admitted to VPS Lakeshore Hospital for a detailed reconstructive surgery. PTI RRT SS SS