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Media - The Australian
Brain surgery patient awake under the knife A Canberra medical team has removed a life-threatening aneurysm from a patient's brain, using what they say is a world-first procedure. The 77-year-old man is expected to speak today about his experience of being conscious during the surgery. The team at the Canberra Hospital, led by neurosurgeon Vini Khurana, will reveal details of their pioneering procedure. The man had been suffering from a life-threatening venous aneurysm - a large blister on a major vein in his brain - behind his right eye that was impairing his vision. Doctors feared the aneurysm could rupture, which is often fatal, so decided to operate despite its risky location. Mr Khurana said that during the operation in April, neurosurgeons used eye pieces with a multi-dimensional MRI scan of the patient's head displayed on them. "This is like road navigation images being subtly injected into one's sunglasses while driving," he said. They rehearsed the procedure using virtual-reality software before using a state-of-the-art microscope and computer-assisted navigation devices to find the aneurysm, and an ultrasound probe to confirm it had been cut out. Mr Khurana said the patient was "awake and interactive" so doctors could manually assess his vision and make sure the surgery was not altering it. He said the keyhole surgery was so successful that the patient left hospital within a few days, with no trace of the aneurysm remaining and markedly improved vision. The hospital has since used the technique on other patients.
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