Queen Elizabeth 2 Hospital (HQE 2) in collaboration with Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) has successfully performed brain surgery on a fully conscious patient on Thursday (Jan 12).
Sabah Health director Datuk Dr Rose Nani Mudin said the first ‘awake craniotomy’ in the state was carried out at the hospital here.
She said the medical team comprised HQE 2 neurosurgeons Dr M Sofan Zenian and Dr Hezry Abu Hasan together with UMS neurosurgical anaesthesiologist Dr Yeap Boon Tat and Sungai Buloh Hospital senior consultant neurosurgeon Dr Liew Boon Seng.
“Preparations and close discussions between HQE 2, Duchess of Kent (HDOK) Hospital, Sandakan and UMS have started since Nov 2022.
“The patient is a 50-year-old woman who has been experiencing headaches since Oct 2022 and was diagnosed with ‘multiple meningioma’ on the left side of her brain,” she said in a statement today.
The decision to perform brain surgery using the ‘awake craniotomy’ technique aims to help the patient to live a better quality of life, Rose Nani added.
Awake craniotomy was introduced in the early 2000s. In Malaysia, it started as early as 2010 at Universiti Sains Malaysia Hospital, Kuala Lumpur Hospital, Sungai Buloh Hospital and Sultanah Aminah Hospital. – Bernama