Mumbai: A complex brain-tumour surgery was performed on a 55-year-old Anita Chalke who was conscious throughout the procedure to lower the risk of any damage to functional areas of the brain which could have affected the movements of hands and legs. According to the doctors, she is a proud breast cancer survivor who fought to bring her life back to normal for a long time before she suddenly developed headaches.
But due to unbearable pain and uncontrollable seizures, she approached Dr Abhijeet at SRV Mamata hospital for further treatment. During the investigation, her MRI report confirmed there was a lump in her brain. Dr Abhijeet Kulkarni, a Consultant Neurosurgeon at SRV Mamata Hospital (Dombivali), said the tumour of about 1.5-2 cm in size was present in the gross motor area (This is the part of your brain that is responsible for speech, vision and motor functions such as the movements of hands and legs).
In such situations, removing a brain tumour requires a patient to be awake as it is essential to gauge the effect of each step on the patient. “During the whole procedure of around two hours, the medical team actively interacted with the patient to ensure she could articulate what she felt and followed the instructions essential in monitoring her limbs movements. Her responses helped us in ensuring that the procedure was always moving in the correct direction. Post procedure, the patient was successfully mobilised on the same day and discharged on the third day.” adds Dr Kulkarni.
