For the first time in the UK, surgeons have performed a ground-breaking surgery to remove a tumour through a patient’s eye socket.
As per Sky News, surgeons at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust have successfully removed a brain tumour that was previously considered inoperable.
Ruvimbo Kaviya, a 40-year-old mother of three children who works as a nurse in Leeds underwent surgery to have a meningioma, a type of tumour, removed.
The tumour was located in a specific area beneath the brain and behind the eyes.
Experts rehearsed the surgery multiple times by using 3D models created from Kaviya’s head.
The surgery, called an endoscopic trans-orbital approach, was completed in only three hours.
After the procedure, Kaviya was able to get up and walk the same day and has a small scar near her left eye.
As per the outlet, similar surgeries have already been done after the one in Leeds.
In the past, these types of surgeries required removing a large section of the skull and shifting the brain to reach the tumour, which often resulted in serious complications, including seizures.
The patient expressed, “It was the first time they were doing the procedure. I had no option to agree because the pain was just too much - I didn't even think about it being the first time, all I needed was for it to be removed.
She went on to share, “There's a first time to everything. So you never know, this might be the best chance for me to have it. And it was."
Kaviya added, "When I had the operation I thought I was possibly going to stay in the hospital for weeks or months and I was home in days. I had double vision for about three months but everything else was OK."
The successful surgery provides new hope for patients with cancers that were once considered inoperable.
