Hospital kept my skull in a freezer

A patient waited nearly four months for an operation with half her skull kept in a hospital freezer, while officials argued over her medical insurance.

Waitress Briana Lane, 22, was in a car crash in January and woke up in hospital with a hole in the left side of her head covered with only skin and stitches.

Doctors discharged her a month later, giving her a plastic hockey helmet to wear during the day. They kept half her skull on ice while the hospital and health insurers argued who would pay for the surgery.

Two weeks ago, Ms Lane finally got the operation after taking her plight to a US TV station. She said she felt lucky to survive the crash but that living without a portion of her skull was excruciating.

She told how she would wake up in the morning to find her brain had shifted to one side.

'You'd think they could give me something better protective than a helmet,' said Ms Lane, 'like a skull, perhaps.'

The University of Utah health centre footed the bill after insurer Medicaid ruled that Ms Lane did not meet its scheme's disability requirements.