A college student has had a tube fitted in her skull to channel spinal fluid from her brain to her stomach.
Melissa Peacock, 17, had the operation to relieve the pain caused by excess fluid on the brain resulting from intracranial hypertension, the Daily Mail reports.
After nine failed operations to remove the fluid, the Bradford-based teenager had the operation, which causes her to digest her own spinal fluid.
Peacock said: "I was a bit shocked when I realised exactly what the doctors were planning on doing.
"My friends think the fact that I digest fluid from my brain is a bit weird - but my quality of life is so much better since I had the shunt put in place, I don't care."
She added: "The pain was just unbearable at times, so I agreed to go ahead with the operation.
"Before, there were weeks at a time where I just couldn't get out of bed because of the pain - and even when I did, I couldn't do all the things my friends did."