CONDITIONS TREATED
Treatment of tumours > Surgery
The aim of surgery for brain tumours is to remove as much of the tumour as possible. In some cases, such as easily accessible meningiomas, complete removal is an achievable goal. Some tumours, such as brain stem gliomas, cannot be removed at all and a biopsy is the best that can be achieved. Most tumours fall somewhere in between these two extremes, with the amount of tumour tissue removed depending on its location, the extent to which it has infiltrated into its surroundings and the sensitivity of nearby structures. It may well be better for the patient to leave a small amount of tumour in place than to attempt complete removal at the expense of permanent neurological damage. Partial removal benefits the patient both by reducing pressure on the brain and therefore relieving symptoms and by reducing the amount of tumour to be treated by radiation therapy or chemotherapy. It should also be remembered that where a malignant tumour is present, the apparently normal tissue surrounding it will in fact contain a large number of abnormal cells which must be treated if the tumour is not to recur.
The Brain Surgery team in action - 2008
In this actual patient history, an intelligent gentleman aged 78 years old – who had only retired 3 years earlier – experienced over 4 months of gradual deterioration in function, sleepiness, reduced concentration and general disinterest in life and most recently headaches and hallucinations. Two years prior he had lost all sense of taste and smell.
He had already seen a Geriatrician, within the NHS, with no specific diagnosis and had been referred for an urgent MRI scan in the NHS (12 weeks wait). He arrived down from his home in Yorkshire to the Wellington Hospital for a private MRI. Next day, he was seen by a neurosurgeon, Mr Ian Sabin and diagnosed with a meningioma - a benign brain tumour over 8cm in diameter. Following a course of steroids to reduce the inflammation within the brain he was operated on at The Wellington Hospital. A 10-hour surgical operation was performed through a 2-inch surgical incision along his eyebrow to remove the majority of the brain tumour. A very small portion of the brain tumour remains, as to remove this would have greatly risked permanent nerve and brain damage. Following a 5-day hospital stay, including one night in intensive care, he was discharged home with rapid return to full function (except his smell and taste, where prolonged nerve compression from the tumour over 2 years had caused irreversible nerve damage). His prognosis is now extremely positive, and although there is a small possibility that the brain tumour may grow back, with close monitoring and the very slow nature of the growth then future treatment will prevent the tumour from inflicting any further symptoms. His wife and family are ecstatic to have their husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather back home with a full return to his old personality and a positive future ahead.
