Pioneering eyebrow surgery removes large brain tumor

A pioneering operation to remove a large brain tumor from a patient’s eyebrow has been successfully carried out in Scotland.

In what is being described as a “world first”, NHS Grampian said a tumor the size of a large apple had been removed using the technique.

Consultant neurosurgeon Anastasios Jamouliadis can now apply existing eyebrow techniques to remove larger growths. This development is described as a “game changer.”

This surgery is said to have fewer complications, shorter surgery and recovery times, and result in fewer scars. One recipient, who described his tumor as resembling a tennis ball, said he was discharged from the hospital in just two days with only a black eye.

Traditional surgery for patients with tumors in the front of the brain requires removing a large portion of the skull, known as a craniotomy.

This is a long and complicated process that can take up to 10 hours, and healthy parts of the brain are exposed during the surgery.

This new technique, known as a modified eyebrow keyhole supraorbital approach for brain tumors, means patients can expect to be left with only a small scar and a black eye.

Some people can be discharged from the hospital after just 24 hours and return to work within a few days.

Doreen Adams, 75, from Aberdeen, previously underwent craniotomy to remove the tumor.

This is a surgery in which part of the skull is removed to expose the brain.

She is currently undergoing a new surgery and said the difference between the two surgeries is “night and day.”

“You’ve heard these things, but no. Through your eyebrows? No, I just can’t think of it,” she told BBC Scotland News.

“My tumor was like a tennis ball. How can I get a small thing out of here?

“In two days, this man, this wonderful young man, will give me my life back.

“And that’s exactly what he walked away with.”

She explained: “My recovery from the surgery at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary was much faster.

“I was discharged from the hospital two days later and immediately returned to my normal life.

“I was discharged from the hospital in two days, but other than the blackness in front of my eyes, there was nothing else.

“It’s pretty incredible to have brain surgery and be back to normal within a few days.

“We are very grateful to Mr Jamouriadis and NHS Grampian. It is great to have this innovative approach and these skills here in the North East.”

Mr Jamouriadis told BBC Scotland News: “What I’ve noticed throughout my career, and especially during my training, is that even if the surgery goes very well with no complications, it takes a considerable amount of time for the patient to recover. That’s what I meant,” he said.

He said of the new process: “I didn’t invent this type of surgery, but I modified it to give more space between the eyebrows and now I can remove very large brain tumors.”

“Nowhere else in the world has we been able to successfully remove a tumor as large as ours.

“We operate from the eyebrow. Space is very limited, but we can perform the surgery faster and with fewer complications.”

He said the surgery could be completed in as little as three hours.

“Traditionally people would have a scar across their forehead, but we get around that in this way,” he explained.

“Typically, our patients go home with a bruised eye on the second day, as expected, but it returns to normal within a few days.

“It has huge implications for patients, their families, society, organizations and the NHS.

“It’s a game changer.”