Patient watches ‘Adhurs’ movie while undergoing 'Awake Brain Surgery' in Kakinada GGH

Kakinada: Doctors at the Government General Hospital (GGH) in Kakinada for the first time removed a brain tumor from a female patient through "Awake Brain Surgery" also known as “Awake Craniotomy” while showing her favorite movie Adhurs, starring Jr NTR.

The 55-year-old patient from A Kothapalli, Tondangi Mandal had a 3.3 x 2.7 cm tumor on the left side of her brain. The medical team performed the Awake Craniotomy surgery for 2.5 hours while keeping her awake under minimal sedation. To keep her distracted, the doctors played comedy scenes from her favourite movie.

During Awake Brain Surgery, the patient remains conscious so as to help the medical team avoid damaging key areas of the brain responsible for vision, movement, or speech.

According to the doctors, the woman patient was suffering from symptoms including weakness in her right arm and leg. After visiting several private hospitals, where the treatment was deemed expensive and difficult, she was admitted to GGH on September 11, following headaches, fainting, and numbness on the right side of her body. Discovering tumour, the medical team has planned to go for a surgery.

“This type of surgery was performed for the first time at GGH. Patients are kept awake during the procedure so they can respond to questions and ensure no nerves are damaged,” said Dr. A. Vishnuvardhan, head of the anesthesiology department, and Dr. Vijaysekhar, head of neurosurgery.

In February 2024, similar surgery was performed in government general hospital, Guntur on a 48-year-old man by engaging him in his favourite actor Mahesh Babu’s movie ‘Pokiri’ during the procedure, for removing tumour.

What is Awake Brain Surgery?

Awake brain surgery is a type of procedure performed on the brain while you are awake and alert. Awake brain surgery is used to treat some brain (neurological) conditions, including some brain tumors or epileptic seizures.

If the tumor or the area of your brain where the seizures occur (epileptic focus) is near the parts of the brain that control vision, movement or speech, the patient may need to be awake during surgery. The surgeon may ask a few questions and monitor the activity in the brain as the patient responds.

The responses help the surgeon to ensure that he or she treats the correct area of the brain needing surgery. The procedure also lowers the risk of damage to functional areas of the brain that could affect vision, movement or speech.

If a tumor or section of your brain that causes seizures needs surgical removal, doctors must be sure that they are not damaging an area of the brain that affects your language, speech and motor skills. It's difficult to pinpoint those areas exactly before surgery. Awake brain surgery allows the surgeon to know exactly which areas of your brain control those functions and avoid them.