Indian doctors perform awake brain surgery to remove tumour

Kochin: In a unique and riskier case of its kind a team of doctors performed a rigorous brain surgery removing a tumor while keeping the patient awake during the surgery. The patient remained awake and communicated with doctors during the three hours long surgery which was performed at Ernakulam General Hospital led by Dr. Dalwin Thomas.

Jamher A, the 45-year-old man was diagnosed with a brain tumor which needed urgent surgery to remove it.

"The patient is awake but is given controlled sedation. In this surgical procedure, the patient's scalp was numbed. He was administered a nerve or scalp block - an injection of medication to block pain (controlled sedation) and local anesthesia to numb the scalp. The anesthesia is administered to prevent pain and not to remove consciousness," said Dr. Thomas.

"Awake brain surgeries are used by neurosurgeons to remove tumors that are located close to areas that control vision, language and body movements. In Jammer's case, the tumor was in the motor area of the brain, which controls the movement of hands and legs. While these surgeries are being performed, there is a risk of patient losing their significant functions or movements. We ask the patient to talk as well as to move hands and legs during the surgery," said Dr. Thomas to ET Healthworld.

At present, the patient is receiving post-operative care and being monitored in the hospital.

Generally, brain surgeries are expensive and require appreciable amount for operation. The patient was provided financial aid from Karuna Benevolent Fund scheme run by state government.