Groundbreaking eyebrow surgery removes large brain tumors

A groundbreaking operation to remove large brain tumors through patients’ eyebrows has been successfully carried out in Scotland.

According to NHS Grampian, the technique has removed tumors the size of large apples in what is being described as a “world first”.

Consultant neurosurgeon Anastasios Giamouriadis has adapted the existing eyebrow technique to now be able to remove larger growths – a development he described as “groundbreaking”.

It is said that the operation involves fewer complications, the operation and recovery time is shorter, and therefore there is less scarring. One recipient, who described her tumor as a tennis ball, said she was discharged from hospital in just two days with nothing but a black eye.

Traditional surgical procedures for patients with tumors on the front of the brain involve removing a large portion of the skull, called a craniotomy.

It is a lengthy, complex process that can take up to 10 hours and involves exposing healthy parts of the brain.

The new technique, known as the Modified Eyebrow Keyhole SupraOrbital Approach for Brain Tumors, means patients are likely to be left with only a small scar and a black eye.

Some can leave the hospital as early as 24 hours later and return to work within a few days.

Doreen Adams, 75, from Aberdeen, previously had to undergo a craniotomy to remove a tumor.

She has now undergone the new surgery and described the difference between the two procedures as “night and day”.

“You hear about these things, but no – it goes through your eyebrows? No – you just can’t think,” she told BBC Scotland News.

“My tumor was like a tennis ball – how can you make this so small?”

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

“And that’s exactly what he did.”

She explained: “My recovery from surgery at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary was much, much quicker.”

“I was discharged from hospital two days later and was able to return to my normal life almost immediately.

“I was gone within two days with nothing but a black eye.

“To think you can have brain surgery and be back to normal within a few days is just incredible.”

“I’m very grateful to Mr Giamouriadis and NHS Grampian – it’s fantastic that we have this innovative approach and skills here in the North East.”

Mr Giamouriadis told BBC Scotland News: “I have noticed throughout my career, particularly during my training, that patients’ recovery takes quite a long time, even when the operation is without complications.”

He said of the new procedure: “I did not invent this type of surgery, but I modified it to give me more space through the eyebrows and to allow me to remove very large brain tumors.”

“We don’t know of anywhere else in the world that has been able to remove tumors as large as we have.”

“We enter through the eyebrow. This means we have very limited space, but we can carry out the operation faster and with fewer complications.”

He said the operation could be completed in just three hours.

“Traditionally people would leave scars all over their forehead, which we avoid with this method,” he explained.

“Typically, our patients go home on the second day, as expected, with an eye bruise that returns to normal within a few days.”

“It has huge implications for the patient, their families, society, the organization and the NHS.

“It’s a game changer.”