In what could be called a medical miracle, doctors at a private hospital in Punjab's Jalandhar performed a complex and rare brain surgery, while preserving the speech and understanding abilities of a 42-year-old woman from Nawanshahr, as she remained awake and reciting the Hanuman Chalisa.
Explaining the delicate nature of the surgery, Neuro and spine surgeon Dr Manbachan Singh said the patient had a brain tumour in the part of the brain that processes speech and language. Even slight damage to this area could have permanently impaired the patient's speech.
The difference in this surgery was that complete anaesthesia could not be administered, as under its effect, it would have been impossible for surgeons to determine whether the patient was able to speak properly during the operation.
This posed a high risk of speech loss. To reduce this risk, the team performed awake brain surgery. In this procedure, the patient remains awake and communicates with the doctors during the operation. This allows the doctors to determine in real-time whether the brain is functioning properly.
Woman talked to doctors while undergoing surgery
Dr Yasir Razak and Dr Saurav Bhateja, anesthesiologists, assisted in the successful operation. Using a neuronavigation system, the doctors pinpointed the exact location of the tumour.
This allowed the tumour to be removed through a very small incision, without damaging the rest of the brain.
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The tumour was slowly removed using a CUSA machine to protect the nerves involved in speech. During the operation, the patient answered the doctors' questions and even recited the Hanuman Chalisa, reassuring them that her speech was intact.