KOTA KINABALU: The Queen Elizabeth Hospital II’s (QEH II) Neuro Surgery team, in collaboration with Brain Anesthesia Specialists from Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), successfully performed the first ‘awake mini craniotomy’ brain surgery in Sabah on an 88-year-old man who suffered a traumatic brain injury on July 30, 2024.
The Sabah State Health Department’s director Datuk Dr. Asits Sanna announced this significant achievement by the QEH II, stating that patient experienced a large chronic subdural hemorrhage on the left side of the brain after falling in his housing area two weeks prior, leading to severe headaches, blurred vision, unclear speech, and weakness on the right side of his body.
The decision to proceed with surgery was made urgently to remove the blood clot in the brain, as the patient’s neurological function was deteriorating.
The primary purpose of conducting the surgery while the patient was awake was to assess his neurological function intraoperatively. After approximately 30ml of blood clot was removed, the patient’s neurological function showed significant improvement. The patient has now fully recovered.
This surgery was led by Dr. (Mr) Sofan Zenian, Head of Department and Neuro Surgery Consultant at QEH II, along with Dr. Yeap Boon Tat, Senior Lecturer and Neuro-anesthesia Specialist from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FPSK), UMS. The success of this awake surgery has reduced the risk of full anesthesia complications and avoided the need for the patient to be admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), thereby decreasing the rate of nosocomial infections in the ICU.
The Sabah State Health Department extended its highest congratulations and appreciation to the HQE II and UMS surgical teams for this success and collaboration. This achievement serves as a significant platform to further advance progress in neurosurgery and neurocritical care in the state. The department is committed to continue supporting and strengthening collaborations with any parties for the health and treatment benefits of the people in Sabah.-pr/BNN
