Surgeons make history by removing a woman’s brain tumor through her eye

Doctors in the UK have just achieved an incredible surgical feat: removing a tumor in someone’s brain through the eye socket.

Surgeons at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust operated on 40-year-old Ruvimbo Kafia last year. The surgery, the first of its kind in the UK, aims to be a less invasive treatment for some tumors at the base of the skull. Kavya was able to return home from hospital within days, and now only has a small, nondescript scar along her left eye.

Kavya was diagnosed with multiple meningiomas (tumors that grow in the meninges, the protective layers of the brain) in 2023, after persistent bouts of headaches and other symptoms. The tumors were located in the cavernous sinus, a network of nerves and vessels behind the eyes that directs blood flow away from the brain.

Typically, doctors try to remove these tumors with an open craniotomy, a procedure that involves removing a piece of the skull and repositioning the brain to reach the cancer. But fortunately, in recent years surgeons have tried a new technique for removing skull base tumors, called… Endoscopic transorbital approach. In this case, Kavya seemed to be the ideal candidate for surgery.

“This technique allows us to remove tumors without opening the skull or having to pull or compress the brain. The minimally invasive nature of this procedure significantly reduces trauma, enabling Patients recover faster with minimal visible scarring. statement From the hospital.

Doctors initially practiced their procedure using 3D replica models created using scans of Cavia’s skull. They had the surgery in February 2024, which only required a cut about a half-inch long along Kaavia’s eyelid. The cancer is then removed using an endoscope (flexible tube and camera) that surgeons carefully navigate around the eye socket.

“I was amazed by the recovery,” Cavia said in a statement from Leeds. “I was in the hospital for only two days, without any side effects or swelling. I feel absolutely fine now. I am very grateful to Mr. Sheikh, Mr. Parmar and the entire team, they reassured me throughout the process.

While Kavya had to take three months off work to fully recover, she has since returned to her job. Doctors say the increased use of this emerging technology would improve surgical treatment for many other patients with similar conditions.

“It is an area that is difficult to reach, and this (surgery) allows direct access without any compromise on pressure on the brain. So it reaches us only in areas that were previously thought to be inoperable, but now it is accessible.” He said Telegraph.