CHENNAI: Doctors at SIMS hospital successfully operated on a 10-year-old girl who was diagnosed with brain tumour.According to a press release, the girl had seizures for the last two months before surgery. A brain scan had revealed that the girl had brain tumour in the area that controls movement of the left side of her body, including face, hand and leg. If ignored, the patient would have developed complete paralysis in the left half of the body. It was also life threatening.
So, the doctors decided to remove the tumour using awake craniotomy, a surgical procedure where local anaesthesia is given and the patient is kept awake so that she can be asked to move her limbs while the tumour is being removed.
The surgery took three hours. To enhance safety, the exact nerves controlling the girl’s left leg, hand and left side of the face were identified with a modern neuro physiological procedure called Intra-Op neuro monitoring. The girl was discharged after two days.