Pellets removed from brain while patient was awake

Kochi: Two pellets were removed from the brain of a 32-year-old man through a keyhole surgery while he was awake and alert.
Pradeep Kumar and his friend, while returning home on a bike were shot by an agitated person near Moolamattom, Idukki, on March 26 this year. While the friend died, two pellets entered from Pradeep’s left brain to the right. There were also fragmented pieces of the third pellet in the brain.Pradeep was not wearing a helmet when the incident happened.
“His condition was critical and there was bleeding in the brain. Also, his speech, vision and memory were affected and he was in a state of coma. We were concerned about how we can remove the pellets without causing any further damage to the brain,” said neurosurgeon Dr Jain George of Sunrise Hospital, where the surgery was carried out.
The doctors decided to do awake brain surgery, also known as an awake craniotomy, a type of procedure performed on the brain while the patient is awake and alert by a keyhole stereotactic Neuro navigation guided surgery.
After the surgery, Pradeep, a mechanic by profession, is much better and has regained his vision and speech. “At first I couldn’t recognise anyone except my wife. But now I am much better and I hope to go abroad for work soon,” said Pradeep.
Dr Hafeez Rahman, chairman, of Sunrise hospital said that awake craniotomy is rarely attempted in patients and there is hardly any evidence suggesting its success in India.