Surgeons Make History By Removing Brain Tumor From Woman’s Eye

Doctors in the UK have just achieved an amazing surgical feat: removing a man’s brain tumor from his eye socket.

Surgeons at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust performed the procedure on 40-year-old Ruvimbo Kaviya last year. The first operation in the UK aims to be a less invasive treatment for certain tumors located at the base of the skull. Kavya was able to go home from the hospital within days and now only has a small, unusual scar on her left eye.

Kavya was diagnosed with multiple meningiomas (tumors that grow on the meninges, the protective layers of the brain) in 2023 after experiencing persistent headaches and other symptoms. The tumors were located in his cavernous sinus, a network of nerves and vessels found behind the eyes that divert 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 luckily, in recent years, surgeons have experimented with a new method for removing skull base tumors. endoscopic trans-orbital approach. And in this situation, Kavia appeared to be a perfect candidate for surgery.

“This technique allows us to remove tumors without opening the skull or pulling back or compressing the brain. The minimally invasive nature of the procedure significantly reduces trauma and allows patients to recover more quickly with minimal visible scarring,” said Asim Sheikh, consultant skull base and neurovascular surgeon in Leeds, who performed Kavia’s operation. statement from the hospital.

Doctors first performed their procedure using 3D replica models created from scans of Kavia’s skull. They performed the surgery in February 2024, which required cutting about half an inch of Kavia’s eyelid. The cancer is then removed using an endoscope (a flexible tube and camera) that surgeons carefully navigate around the eye socket.

“I am delighted with the recovery,” Kavia said in a statement from Leeds. “I was only in the hospital for two days, I didn’t feel any side effects or swelling. Now I feel perfect. I am deeply grateful to Mr. Sheikh, Mr. Parmar and the entire team – they reassured me throughout the process.”

Although Kavya had to take three months off work to fully recover, she has since returned to work. Doctors say the growing use of this emerging technique should improve surgical treatment for many other patients with similar conditions.

“This area is difficult to reach and this (surgery) allows direct access to the brain without any pressure. So it’s just reaching us in areas that were once not operational but are now accessible,” Sheikh said he said The Telegraph.