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Bookmark & shareAwake brain surgery › The operation
Paul Grundy removed a small piece of Peter's skull, using a drill, to access his brain. He then 'mapped' Peter's brain to make sure he removed only the tumour and nothing else. He did this by applying small electric currents (2milliamps) to parts of Peter's brain. At the same time, he asked Peter to count aloud. When the current caused Peter to stop counting, it meant that Mr Grundy was zapping live brain tissue. When Peter's speech was unaffected, Mr Grundy knew he was touching the lesion. Mr Grundy then carefully removed as much of the suspected tumour as was safe. At the same time, samples of this tissue were sent off for a biopsy. Any remaining tumourous tissue must now be fought off using chemo or radiotherapy.
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Tools of the trade
The surgical team used a variety of tools during the operation. Here is a selection.
Anaesthetic machine
Only two drugs were administered to Peter during surgery. This machine allowed the anaesthetist to monitor their levels and change the quantities if needed.
Propofol was used to sedate Peter and was only used at the start and end of the operation. Remifentanil is a painkiller and was used when necessary.
Neuronavigation system
This computer takes 2D MRI scans to produce 3D models of the head and tumour, allowing the surgeon to see where they are in the brain at all times during surgery.
