A unique operation was performed at the Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital
A unique operation on the brain was performed at NDSL Ohmatdyt: the patient was conscious during the intervention. At the age of 16, Dasha, like most of her peers, was planning to enter the university, until suddenly headaches, dizziness and speech disorders began. Doctors diagnosed a tumor. The tumor was found between the speech centers. It was possible to remove it without affecting the centers and leading pathways only if Dasha would be conscious and, more importantly, able to speak, so that the neurosurgeons could preserve the girl's speech. The only option in which this was possible was to perform an operation with a unique anesthesia, during which the patient would be conscious. This is the second such operation performed on a child in Ukraine. This operation combined many modern techniques. "We used a complex of unique equipment available in Okhmatdyt: an operation planning station, neuronavigation, an ultrasonic destructor, a microscope with fluorescence (a contrast substance was introduced that illuminated the tumor under ultraviolet light) and intraoperative ultrasound control," says Pavlo Plavskyi, head of the neurosurgery department children's hospital. At the beginning of the operation, the girl was under general anesthesia, and when the neurosurgeons performed the main stage, she was conscious. During the operation, neurologists-neurophysiologists carried out mapping of the cerebral cortex so as not to affect the speech area. The girl described the pictures she saw in front of her. After two hours in the anesthesiology and intensive care unit with ECMO beds, Dasha stood up on her own, was able to drink and eat whatever she wanted. Her mother could be with her all this time.The next day, Dasha was transferred to a regular ward. Immediately after the operation, the girl stopped lisping, speech problems disappeared. We thank the doctors for their professionalism and wish Dasha a quick recovery!