A 23-year-old’s journey from debilitating pain to groundbreaking treatment for a rare venous malformation. Learn her story and recovery.

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In March 2022, Chloe Hermansen’s life took a dramatic turn.

At just 23 years old, she started feeling something unusual—her right eye seemed to pulsate, and everyday actions like chewing became unbearable.

Even lying down brought excruciating pain.

Chloe had always dealt with migraines, a lingering symptom of a rare condition diagnosed when she was just five.

But this?

This was something else entirely.

Unable to continue her job as a stylist in Dallas, Chloe made the difficult decision to move back home to Missouri to live with her mom.

“It was depressing,” she recalled. “It was awful not feeling like myself, unable to get out and do anything.”

A Desperate Search for Answers

That summer, after months of relentless pain and no answers, Chloe stumbled upon the name of a specialist in New York.

Dr. Netanel Ben-Shalom, a neuroplastic surgeon at Northwell Lenox Hill Hospital, was an expert in her condition: venous malformations.

Chloe sent her scans to his team with nothing to lose, hoping for a miracle.

The doctors were stunned.

The bone behind Chloe’s right eye was gone.

In its place was a hole—a void where her skull should have been.

Her brain had begun pressing directly into her eye socket, causing the pulsating sensation and unbearable pain.

“If you think about the eye as the basement and the brain as the first floor, she did not have a ‘floor’ to the skull,” Dr. Ben-Shalom explained.

Over the years, the pressure from Chloe’s venous malformation had slowly worn down her skull, carving through it like water through rock.

What Are Venous Malformations?

For those unfamiliar, venous malformations are clusters of abnormal veins, often forming in the face or neck.

According to Dr. Teresa O, a facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon at Northwell, they are like “a bag of worms.”

These rare conditions affect about 1 in every 5,000 people and usually do not cause issues.

In Chloe’s case, however, the malformation was aggressive.

It had infiltrated the muscles on the right side of her face, stretching from her cheekbone to her temple.

Chloe had undergone treatments in her teenage years, including sclerotherapy—a procedure that injects medication to shrink abnormal veins.

However, the malformation persisted, growing more invasive and destructive over time.

A Bold Plan for Recovery

The situation was dire when Chloe reached Dr. Ben-Shalom and Dr. O. If left untreated; she risked losing her vision and possibly facing cognitive issues.

The team devised a two-step surgical plan to save her.

Dr. O led the first surgery in December 2022. She removed the affected muscles and venous malformation, replacing the lost tissue with a fat graft from Chloe’s abdomen.

To ensure symmetry, she also reshaped Chloe’s cheekbone.

The second surgery, scheduled for March 2024, was even more complex.

Dr. Ben-Shalom’s team used cutting-edge 3D printing technology to create a custom implant to replace the missing section of Chloe’s skull.

During the procedure, he repositioned Chloe’s brain, removed the diseased bone, and secured the implant in place.

It was like solving an intricate puzzle—a high-stakes operation that required absolute precision.

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

Today, Chloe is finally free of the pain that dominated her life for so long.

“I feel like a new person,” she said.

Recovering at her mom’s house in Missouri, she is looking forward to moving back to Dallas and returning to work.

“I am excited to return to normal activities and feel like myself again.”

A Story of Resilience and Hope

Chloe’s journey is a testament to the importance of persistence and advocating for your health.

It is also a powerful reminder of the incredible strides being made in modern medicine.

With the help of innovative technologies like 3D printing and skilled surgeons like Dr. Ben-Shalom and Dr. O, patients like Chloe are reclaiming their lives.

For anyone facing a similar condition, Chloe’s story is an inspiring beacon of hope: no matter how dark things may seem, there is always a path forward—sometimes, you need the right team to help you find it.