AIIMS Patna doctors perform brain surgery while interacting with patient
For the first time in Bihar, a team of doctors at AIIMS Patna used local anesthesia to remove a tumor from the brain of a 21-year-old man. Rohit Kumar, a resident of Muzaffarpur, was admitted to the hospital recently with complaints of a severe headache and fits. His MRI reports showed a tumor of about 5cm diameter, which was removed on September 21.
Patient is showing good progress: Doctor
"It took us nearly four hours to remove the tumor. The patient is showing very good progress and we are planning to discharge him in a couple of days," Saquib Siddiqui, Associate Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at the hospital, said.
Local anesthesia enabled doctors to keep patient awake during surgery
Explaining why they chose local anesthesia, Dr. Siddiqui, the team head, said, "It enabled us to keep him awake during surgery." It helped them get feedback in real-time since they kept interacting with Rohit. "We asked him if he felt any weakness in his right arm and leg since the tumor affected that part of the brain which controlled limb movement," Dr. Siddiqui added.
This surgical intervention requires skill, but safer for patients: Doctor
Dr. Siddiqui further said, "Although this type of surgical intervention requires very high degree of skill and technical know-how, it's much safer for patients." He hopes this feat "would instill confidence among the people of Bihar and they would come to the facility in larger numbers." Set up in 2012, AIIMS Patna is located near Walmi institute at Phulwari Sharif, 8km from Patna Town.
