Doctors perform ‘awake brain surgery’ at A’pura Hospital; patient draws picture during operation

The Neurosurgery Unit of Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital has successfully carried out an awake brain surgery, for the resection of a brain tumor, while the patient was not only awake and fully conscious, but had also drawn a picture during the operation.

The awake brain surgery, also known as ‘awake craniotomy’ is a type of procedure performed on the brain while the patient is awake, and able to talk to the operative team and make movements.

It is reported that this is the third such successful surgery performed by the same medical team, while the first awake brain surgery performed within a government hospital in Sri Lanka was also carried out at the Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital.

The surgery was carried out for the resection of a tumor in the left frontal lobe of the patient’s brain while he was under minimal sedation without providing general anaesthesia, according to the doctors.

The drawing of the picture by the 36-year-old patient, who is a sculptor by profession, was to help doctors avoid parts of his brain that control speech, motor and sensory as they remove the tumor. 

The brain tumor patient, who is a resident of the Nochchiyagama area, had been discharged from the hospital without any complications after the completion of the surgery, hospital sources said.

The surgery was performed by a medical team comprising of Dr. Madushanka Gomez and Dr. Rohan Paris, the Neurosurgeons of Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital, and the Anesthesiologists Dr. Levan Kariyawasam and Dr. Vishakha Kerner.