Representative image showing brain surgery being performed.
Credit: Pixabay Photo
Doctors at a Lucknow hospital performed a brain surgery and successfully removed a tumour while the patient used his mobile phone.
The procedure took place on September 11 using the Awake Craniotomy technique which required the patient to stay active in order to minimise nerve damage risk, as per a report in The Times of India.
The surgery was performed at the Kalyan Singh Cancer Institute in Chak Ganjaria after 56-year-old Harishchandra Prajapati from Lucknow was diagnosed with brain tumour and had been suffering from headaches, and weakness in his left hand and leg.
Ganjaria stayed conscious throughout the surgery and performed various tasks like using his mobile phone, holding a pen, and moving his leg, while the doctors operated using local anesthesia.
With the help of Awake Craniotomy technique, the doctors were able to keep a track of the brain functioning of the patient using a nerve monitoring machine which not only helped in the safe extraction of the tumour but also in preserving the nerves that control hand and leg function.
"We decided to operate on patients using Awake Craniotomy technique to minimise the risk of nerve damage," head of the neurosurgery department told the publication.
Medical science has been advancing in terms of adopting safer techniques to perform acute surgeries.
Recently, doctors at a private hospital removed a complex brain tumour from a 62-year-old man through the nasal route, restoring his vision.
The patient was admitted to Ujala Cygnus Hospital in Nangloi with a diagnosis of pituitary adenoma, a type of benign tumour that arises from the pituitary gland located at the base of the brain, said Dr Monique Garg, Senior Consultant, Neurosurgery.
"The transnasal transsphenoidal approach, where we access the tumour through the nasal passages and sphenoid sinus, allows us to reach and remove the tumour with minimal disruption to surrounding brain tissue. The improvement in his vision post-surgery was significant and we expect further progress in the coming weeks," Garg said.
After the surgery, the patient was able to count fingers up to 6 metres. A week after being discharged from the hospital, the patient returned for a follow-up appointment.
(With PTI inputs)