Second awake craniotomy performed in Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah has successfully carried out the second awake craniotomy surgery at Queen Elizabeth Hospital II (QEH II) here on a 40-year-old man from Sandakan.

The surgery was performed on a conscious patient on July 11, in the operating room of QEH II.

It was a collaborative effort by a group of doctors from QEH II, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), and Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM) in Kubang Kerian, Kelantan.

The preparation for the surgery started in April 2023.

The procedure was conducted by Professor Datuk Dr Jafri Malin Abdullah, a specialist neurosurgery consultant and lecturer at USM, together with Dr Mohd Sofan Zenian and Dr Hezry Abu Hasan, neurosurgery specialist from QEH II.

Brain anaesthetist from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, UMS, Dr Yeap Boon Tat, was also part of the surgical team.

Awake craniotomy brain surgery was introduced in the early 2000s, said Sabah Health director Dr Asits Sanna in a statement.

Dr Asits stated that the patient had been diagnosed with a brain tumour on the right side of the brain (right fronto-temporo-parietal tumor) at the Duchess of Kent Hospital in Sandakan.

"After the surgery, the patient is in good health and able to move his legs and hands without any neurological complications as early as one day after surgery.

"Awake craniotomy is an important surgical technique that ensures the preservation of brain function during the removal of brain tumors," he said.

By performing the surgery while the patient is conscious, brain functions such as the ability to move legs and arms and the ability to speak can be preserved.

The patient's brain function is tested during the surgery.

Dr Asits said the use of technology such as image-guided surgery was crucial in accurately identifying the position of the brain tumour and the important areas of the brain that needed to be avoided during surgery.

This contributed to the success of the surgery, he added.

For the awake craniotomy, anaesthesia was administered using a special machine called target-controlled infusion through the asleep-awake method, he explained.

"Patients receiving anaesthesia in this conscious state can communicate and interact with the doctor throughout the operation," he said.

The surgery was live-streamed to hospitals in Sandakan, Tawau, and Lahad Datu with the patient's permission, serving as a learning and educational opportunity for other doctors, he added.