Car crash survivor left with permanent hole in his leg that doctors say will never heal

Graphic video (click to play above) shows how a car crash survivor has developed a hole in his leg - which doctors can’t get to heal and close. Tom Moss, 31, was in a car crash seven years ago which shattered his pelvis, lacerated his bladder and urethra, and broke his left femur in two places.

He recovered and re-learned to walk but years later developed a "football sized" lump caused by trauma from the crash. After ten operations, he has now been left with a permanent hole in his leg which doctors can't get to heal.

‘You can see the inside of my leg’

Mr Moss, from Chorley in Lancashire, said: “I'm currently left with a hole in my leg and it's bleeding....You can see the inside of my leg.”

A Morel-Lavallée lesion happens when the skin and connective tissue separate from each other. This had then caused fluid to collect in the gap in Tom's thigh. The dad says his ordeal has been an "absolute nightmare" and has to use incontinence pads daily for his leaking wound.

Tom was in a car crash - after being hit by another vehicle on the drivers side - in 2017 and spent eight months healing from his injuries. He said he had to learn how to walk again.

Tom, who has a son, five, and daughter, six, managed to make a recovery but at the end of 2021 he noticed a small lump on his right thigh.

Football-sized lump

He said: "This tiny little lump appeared out of the blue one day. Doctors said it would disappear." But over the year the lump continued to grow and he was finally given an ultrasound in September 2022 which revealed what was going on.

Tom said: "It was the size of a football hanging off." Doctors found a big "fluid pocket" and decided to operate to try and cut away at the dead skin and drain the fluid in September 2022.

They left the wound open and Tom continued to have a further nine surgeries to cut away at the skin and get rid of the fluid over the last two years. He also had a vacuum treatment for six months to try and suck the fluid out.

Tom had his last surgery in August 2024 to try and close up the wound but they were not able to get it to heal and close completely. He has now been told he will have the gap for the rest of his life. Tom said: "They said this is what you're left with. You're going to be left with a hole in your leg.

Tom described it as ‘heart-breaking’ - as he has been told their is nothing more doctors can do and the wound now impacts his life as a father.

"I can't play with the kids like I used to be able to. I can't kick a football anymore. I can't do much physical activity with them."