- 2 hours ago
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00in the heart of liverpool okay let's go is an operating theater like no other
00:09doctors are the pinnacle of their profession ah big nest of vipers that's all totally abnormal
00:20fight to save lives are you all right buddy a bit of pain there yeah straight down my face
00:27in neurosurgeon being able to change lives for the better there's no other job that i'd rather be
00:32doing it's high-stakes surgery this is amazing i've not seen anything like this before ready
00:39study go if you cause an injury to the brain or the spinal cord you can't repair it that's it forever
00:46using groundbreaking technology making life or death decisions oh yes a sea of blood if we don't
00:55do anything should die he needs to wake up i think it's gone well it feels really good
01:02i love it when a pun comes together this is trauma room one
01:09okay thank you
01:25if you've ever had a migraine multiply the pain by about a thousand and you're still not quite there
01:32the walton center has the largest service specializing in headache disorders in the uk
01:39sarah please today 52 year old sarah is having what she hopes will be a life-changing operation
01:45after suffering from cluster headaches for over 20 years you're right okay
01:52i've had four children i'd rather go through childbirth five six times a day than have one cluster attack
01:59it's peak intensity from the second it starts to the second it stops okay it's just nice and still
02:07there cluster headaches are recurring bouts of excruciating pain i have them every day i have
02:14the chronic form so i have a permanent headache so that's 24 hours a day and then i have what we call
02:23an alarm clock headache so about 2 30 every morning i get woken up with a bad attack the other name for
02:31cluster headaches is actually suicide headaches because there's quite a high rate of suicide amongst
02:37people with clusters all right sarah has tried many different medications but nothing has helped
02:45painkillers do absolutely nothing i've done drug trials and things like that to try and find out if
02:52there's any kind of pain relief but a lot of it is just stabbing blindly in the dark to try and find
02:57something because there's no definitive known cause
03:01so now she's agreed to try surgery today i'm having an occipital nerve stimulator fitted
03:15that is electrodes being fitted along the occipital nerve which can help turn off the pain receptors in
03:22the brain the occipital nerves are responsible for feeling in parts of the scalp and neck
03:27the consultant neurosurgeon mrs deepti bargov will be leading the operation the nerves that are coming
03:36from the face and the top part of the head they all converge in the top part of the neck if you're
03:43putting electrical stimulator on one of those nerve branches then you can reduce the intensity frequency
03:51and severity of the headache incisions will be made in sarah's neck to place two electrodes
03:57a battery pack will then be implanted in sarah's lower back and connected by wire via a tunnel to
04:06the electrodes positioned over the occipital nerves electrical impulses traveling to the electrodes
04:12disrupt the pain signals caused by the cluster headaches and help to provide relief
04:18there's not a lot of other options that we can do to help so i'm just hoping that she gets a
04:24very good response from it because the response can be variable as for patient to patient with no
04:30time to lose local going in it's time to go under the knife
04:37so we're just making an incision midline this is all skin and then we reach the second layer which is
04:42a fascial layer so we don't need to go anywhere deeper than that the superficial fascia is the layer
04:48of connective tissue directly beneath the skin swap please yeah ready the team is ready to create
04:56the pockets in the back of sarah's neck that will hold the electrodes a task that demands control and
05:03precision around 45 people each day in the uk face a brain tumor diagnosis 63 year old andrew has been
05:20rushed to the hospital for urgent surgery to remove a tumor from his brain it's hard to get your head
05:26around that you've got something in your head that is messing with you you know it's so frustrating just
05:32my walking balance and everything professor michael jenkinson will be conducting andrew's surgery
05:41this is andrew's scan it's showing the meningioma this large tumor here the meningioma is a generally
05:48benign non-cancerous tumor these come from the linings of the brain and they sit on the surface of the
05:56brain and they cause problems because they are pressing on the brain underneath it and causing
06:01neurological symptoms and in andrew's case and these symptoms are progressing and getting worse you
06:07got it got it now if we leave this meningioma there it's going to get larger and at some point he could
06:13lose function of his left arm left leg first the team has to locate the exact position of the tumor
06:23this is our image guidance machine that allows us to effectively do sat nav for the brain so when we
06:31move this probe over the surface of the head it will move on the screen so we can find the tumor
06:38professor jenkinson will be performing a craniotomy on andrew the process to remove this is to open the
06:44skin take a disc of bone off and then open the linings of the brain and then we remove the solid lump
06:50whilst not damaging the brain underneath and then we put it all back together like humpty dumpty
06:59with everything in place it's time to go knife to skin
07:05we're just opening this scalp here so we've made an incision or a cut through the scalp
07:10down onto the skull these blue things these are called rainy clips and they stop the bleeding from the
07:18scalp your scalp has got a great blood supply anyone who's cut their head will know that it bleeds a lot
07:26so these reduce the chance of it bleeding we're just peeling the scalp now we need to keep the scalp out
07:35of the way when we're operating so we're just stitching a couple of elastic bands same kind of
07:42elastic bandage you'd get at your local stationary shop sterile obviously
07:56we're now scraping off what we call the periosteum so this is the thin layer that's on the surface of
08:02his skull and we're going to use this to cover the gas that we're going to make because we're going to
08:08take the lining of the brain out that's over the top of this meningioma so we'll use this as his
08:15replacement lining and it's better than using an artificial substitute because it's the patient's
08:21own materials it's got a good blood supply going through that button hasn't it yeah as professor
08:28jenkinson gets closer to the target he notices an issue there's a good chance that when we take that
08:35off it bleeds a lot meningiomas can be pretty vascular so when you see it bleeding from the
08:42bone like this it gives you a an early warning that when you take the bone off you might expect
08:47some brisk bleeding excess bleeding during an operation will lead to loss of blood in the body
08:54this means that the heart has to pump harder to get the reduced blood volume around the body
08:59the team must monitor andrew's blood loss as a sharp drop in pressure could become a life-threatening
09:06emergency
09:22the walton center has one of the busiest neurosurgical units in the uk
09:27seeing just under 10 000 new patients each year
09:33earlier today 63 year old andrew was brought into hospital for the removal of a large tumor on the
09:39right side of his brain in an effort to prevent the loss of movement in his left arm and leg
09:44professor jenkinson is performing this critical surgery
09:51it's very bleeding
09:57faced with excessive bleeding let's get the bone off quickly professor jenkinson and his team work hard to
10:05get it under control
10:06here at spain
10:15i'm not going to excess bleeding
10:19What we don't like is excess bleeding. This needs to be dealt with promptly, so as the
10:24surgeon I need to stop that bleeding.
10:26Guys, come on, can we have a big wash ready please?
10:29But the anaesthetist also needs to be aware of this. They can support the patient's heart
10:34and circulation with more fluids and with certain drugs to help keep the patient safe.
10:39Wash please, lots of wash.
10:41Hang on.
10:42Hang on.
10:43More bone wax please.
10:46There we go. That looks karma. That was a bit fruity.
10:54The bleeding that we saw there was pretty brisk. The linings of the brain, they're supplied
10:59by blood vessels and one of those major blood vessels for the linings was bleeding vigorously
11:06so we just had to spend a bit of time stopping that bleeding.
11:12So we are using our bipolar. It's electrical current that goes between the two tips effectively
11:19burning the lining of the brain, the meninges, killing off the blood vessels that are supplying
11:25the tumour. So that when we take the tumour out it doesn't bleed as much.
11:29The bleeding has stopped. But the riskiest part is next. Removing the tumour.
11:37Modern neurosurgery is vastly more safe than it used to be. However, the brain is still
11:45a complex organ. Despite our best efforts we can do the best operation and you can still
11:51have terrible outcomes and occasionally people will die after brain tumour surgery.
11:58Professor Jenkinson and his team are determined that Andrew doesn't become one of those cases.
12:13Around 65,000 people in the UK suffer from cluster headaches.
12:20Okay, she's nice and still there.
12:2352-year-old Sarah has endured symptoms for over 20 years. Having run out of options, she
12:30is now turning to surgery in the hope it will relieve her pain.
12:35Bipolar, please.
12:37Today, she's being operated on by Mrs. Bargov, who's putting electrodes in the back of Sarah's
12:43head, which she hopes will help control the unbearable pain.
12:47There. There. Yeah.
12:50Clusters can be present pretty much every day for a lot of patients. Sarah was on the CV side.
12:58They can have blackouts with these, which she was having as well, so that would limit your
13:03ability to drive, your ability to do any recreational activities, swimming, etc. So, yes, this was
13:10significantly impacting her quality of life.
13:14Mrs. Bargov is first creating a pocket where each electrode will sit.
13:20You make a small cut in the back of your head, in the midline, and you put these two electrodes,
13:26one on each side, just under the skin.
13:28So you'll have the nerves coming out here, so you need to cover this sort of area between the
13:32ear, that's the ear there, and the midline here. So one lead this side, one lead this side.
13:39Getting the electrode into the right location is a delicate process.
13:43Yeah, let me hold this for you. So you've got control with both hands. Suction to me.
13:49Metal needles are used to guide the electrode wires into the pocket already made by the team
13:55at the back of Sarah's head. So that's the needle. We would put a couple of metal needles.
14:02These are stylets which you can bend. So you shape it according to where you want to go.
14:07This is just under the skin, so you can palpate where we are going.
14:10And entering just under the fascia.
14:23Yeah. Okay, fine.
14:25Mrs. Bargov is being assisted by neurosurgical registrar, Mr. Asan Takvi.
14:32Your destination point is here. Don't put your finger there, but here.
14:38Here, right? Yeah.
14:39Okay, can we have the leads, please? So that's the electrode that goes in.
14:48These are the metal bits you see where the current is delivered from.
14:53This is then going to be connected to the battery car.
14:57If you feel behind your ear, you'll feel a pointy bone. That's called the mastoid process.
15:03That is where we are trying to aim for.
15:06The team starts threading the electrode wire through the needle.
15:10The needle has two components. One is the inside the needle bit and the outer sheath.
15:15So once you've put it under the fascia in the correct place,
15:20you then withdraw the inside needle out, keeping the sheath in place.
15:24You then put the electrode through that, and once you're happy that that is in place,
15:29then you withdraw the outer sheath.
15:31Mm-hmm. Go for it.
15:33It's a tricky process, which requires a steady hand.
15:39Like that.
15:41The spinal service at the Walton Centre is one of the busiest in the country,
15:52and performs thousands of procedures each year.
15:55Here you go, my lovely. Take a seat there, lovely.
15:58I'm okay.
15:59Today, 77-year-old Chris is undergoing a critical operation
16:03to remove dangerous bone growths in his neck that have been causing severe complications.
16:08It's getting harder and harder to swallow.
16:11When I try to eat anything, I have to regurgitate it to swallow it again.
16:16Right. You all right?
16:17Ah, yeah. Yes.
16:20Consultant neurosurgeon Mr. Suresh Chandrasekharan is in charge.
16:25This gentleman has got something we call a forestier's disease, or a dish,
16:30which is diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperrostosis,
16:34which essentially means that he's got extra bone formation or calcification
16:40along the ligaments and the muscles.
16:42So all that you see is the extra bone.
16:45It looks like a candle wax appearance, if you see, like dripping off the candle.
16:49This is compressing his esophagus and causing him difficulty to swallow.
16:55It can be dangerous, and sometimes it can go into extremes
16:59where they can have aspiration as well.
17:01So instead of going down the food passage, it might go down your windpipe.
17:08You all right? Good.
17:11Food and liquid entering the windpipe can cause an airway blockage
17:15or a serious lung infection.
17:17What he's having done today is what we call anterior osteophytectomy.
17:22Chris will have the extra bone formation on his cervical spine
17:26removed by drilling the bone off, freeing the food pipe,
17:30which will hopefully help him swallow properly.
17:32It's 70% chance that it's going to work and 30% chance that it's not going to work.
17:37I'm happy with that.
17:39It would be a big change because when you go out for a meal
17:43and you end up regurgitating your food in front of people,
17:50it's not very nice because you don't do it quietly.
17:53It's a big...
17:55So everybody knows you're having problems.
17:58For today's surgery, neurosurgical fellow Mr. Mohamed El Moller
18:08will be working alongside Mr. Chandra Sekharan.
18:11So we'll get an X-ray in the beginning to say we are just at that level.
18:15X-ray is to find out the level that we need to drill.
18:18So it gives us a rough idea as to where we can plan our incision.
18:21So we got the level, as you see, it's just right in between
18:24all the three levels that we need to go for.
18:27And now we just make an incision where we've marked it
18:30and then we open up.
18:33What goes through my head is the steps of the surgery.
18:37So it's just the mental route, the navigation,
18:41to get to the end point and back.
18:43OK, starting.
18:45Mr. Chandra Sekharan first has to cut through layers of tissue
18:53and muscle to access the cervical spine
18:56where the extra bone spurs are growing.
18:59We're just cutting through the platysma now
19:02and the muscle of the neck, the first layer that you come across.
19:06Then we undermine the platysma and we make sure there's no bleeding
19:12and then we dissect towards the vertebral bodies.
19:22The risks of Chris's surgery is essentially damage to the surrounding structures
19:26like the esophagus, the trachea, the laryngeal nerve.
19:30He can have permanent hoarseness of voice
19:32and can cause worsening of his symptoms as well
19:34as a result of damage to all these structures.
19:36He can feel it already.
19:38The bone is per.
19:40So you may end up with a patient worse
19:42than what he was before the surgery.
19:5663-year-old Andrew is having an operation
19:59to remove a tumour from the right side of his brain.
20:02Professor Jenkinson has taken off a piece of skull
20:08so he can access the tumour.
20:10We're drilling the bone because this is where the tumour was
20:14and it looks to be sort of slightly involved with tumour
20:18so we're just going to drill it off
20:20and make sure we get rid of every last bit of meningioma there.
20:24When we do meningioma surgery, the more of the meningioma that we can take out,
20:33the less chance it has of regrowing.
20:36So it's really important to remove all the bits of tumour that we can
20:40and that includes any bits that are stuck to the undersurface of the skull.
20:43We're going to open the linings of the brain
20:46and expose the meningioma and start taking the meningioma out.
20:51We're just peeling off the lining of the brain
20:55which was attached to the meningioma.
20:57Normally when you open these, it's much cleaner and drier.
21:03But it appears this isn't a typical meningioma.
21:07This is a meningioma that's got a good blood supply
21:11so every time we touch it and open it, it bleeds.
21:15We've managed to cut round the dura, the linings of the brain
21:24so that we're all the way round the tumour now.
21:28So that's all free.
21:29So it will make it much easier to see all sides of the tumour
21:32and to get it taken out.
21:35Time to remove the meningioma.
21:38Professor Jenkinson uses the microscope.
21:44We can get better illumination and better magnification.
21:49So now we can get down to the action.
21:51You need to be quite patient as a neurosurgeon.
22:03Your margins for error are very small, you know, measured in millimetres.
22:10So you need to be prepared to put in the time and the effort and the patience
22:15to get the good outcomes for your patients.
22:19Professor Jenkinson must remove all of the tumour
22:22but without damaging any of the surrounding brain.
22:27Meningioma's quite vascular.
22:29So normally I would use an instrument that sort of sucks out all the middle of it
22:35and makes it easier to roll in but my concern is if I plunge into the middle of that
22:42it'll just bleed and it'll just make things harder.
22:45So we're just going to have to patiently go round it like this.
22:51Even though it's a big lump and it makes it a bit harder to do.
23:05Mrs. Bargov and Mr. Tokvi are operating on 52-year-old Sarah.
23:22They are implanting electrodes in the back of her neck
23:25to help relieve the recurring pain she gets from cluster headaches.
23:30These are the bony prominences called mastoids that we aim towards.
23:34So the whole of this area where the nerves are going out is all very well covered.
23:40With the electrodes in place,
23:42Mr. Tokvi makes an incision in Sarah's lower back for the battery pack.
23:46So I'm creating a pocket where the battery will go in.
23:49So we're going to tunnel from here up to here and pass the leaves
23:53and the battery will go inside.
23:55We've got the tunneller.
23:56So this is just a tunneller. It's got a plastic tube.
23:58It's very blunt tip so it just sets the tissue around.
24:01It doesn't poke hopefully anything.
24:04Tunnelling!
24:09Yeah, it's coming out.
24:11Yeah, we should be in the pocket. One second.
24:14Yeah, push it.
24:16Yeah, yeah, you're through. You're through.
24:20So we basically secured the two leads to the fascia.
24:26Then we made a strain relief loop so that when the patient is moving their neck it's fine.
24:30Then we've tunneled from here all the way down.
24:33And now we're connecting it at that end to the battery.
24:37Can I have the screwdriver please?
24:40These are the batteries just like cardiac pacemakers people have for a regular heartbeat.
24:49Once it's in you can't really feel too much.
24:53And usually the rechargeable battery will last about 15-20 years.
24:57Before closing up, the team checks that everything is correct.
25:01The battery's inside the pocket very nicely housed inside.
25:08And you're just going to stitch the wound back up.
25:11And that's it.
25:13The first stage of Sarah's treatment is complete.
25:16Plan from here she'll go home when she wakes up and she feels well.
25:20So later on today.
25:21And then we'll bring her back to clinic next week.
25:25Once the wound is all healed up and pains much better and all.
25:28To start the programming.
25:30The next critical step is activating the battery device.
25:34Which, if successful, could be life-changing for Sarah.
25:3877-year-old Chris has difficulty swallowing due to bone growths on his cervical spine.
25:51Today, Mr. Chandrasekharan is performing surgery to remove them.
25:59That's the bone. That's the spur.
26:0250 and a 45, please.
26:05Together with Mr. Elmala, they have located the bony growths they need to remove.
26:12X-ray, please.
26:14So we're just going to confirm where we are now.
26:16Because there's no proper anatomy.
26:18It's all been covered up by this bony overgrowth.
26:20So we need to make sure we know where we are by doing the X-ray now.
26:24As you can see, it's just above the spur.
26:29Right?
26:30That's nice because we've got a good exposure on the top now.
26:33We don't need to go beyond that.
26:36Happy they're in the correct position.
26:39The team moves on to the next stage.
26:42Removing the bone spurs.
26:45And we're going to reposition the retractors.
26:48So we don't get lost.
26:50The retractors are essentially the instrument that keep away the soft tissue and the other structures that might come in the way of the surgery.
26:57Can we have a bigger drill, please?
26:59In this case, you need to have a good exposure of three levels of the spine.
27:05So you need to keep the esophagus, the trachea, and the caratids out of the way.
27:10Because of the bony formation, the retractors are not holding in. They're slipping.
27:14It's very important to have the retractors to expose your surgical site.
27:18Loosen it a bit more. I need to get it out.
27:20It's tricky work for the team.
27:23It's not out yet, it's not out yet.
27:25But they managed to secure the retractors.
27:29Yes.
27:30It's always good to have another pair of hands during this kind of surgery.
27:34So you're able to see better and you can do the surgery smoother.
27:39Okay, let's drill. Can we get the scope now, please?
27:42Scoping, please.
27:43We're just going to start drilling.
27:45And once we start drilling, we'll start to even the bone out and take all the spurs.
27:49Bone wax, please.
27:51There will be bony bleeding because we're drilling the bone.
27:54So we've got to go make sure hemostasis and then carry on with the drilling.
28:01You don't want to take too much of the bone to cause instability and damage the discs.
28:06So you've got to be just enough to cause the flattening of the bone.
28:10So we've got to drill all this out and even it with this bone here.
28:14It's like one of those Goldilocks things that not too much, not too less has to be just perfect.
28:21It's a slow and steady process.
28:25I think that looks okay at the top. Keep going down now.
28:27If they rush, they risk missing some of the bone growths.
28:40Bipolar, please.
28:45Professor Jenkinson is part way through operating on 63-year-old Andrew's brain tumour.
28:51We'd normally do something called debulking.
28:55So this is where we take out the middle of the tumour and leave a thin rim on the outside that we can just roll in there.
29:04But if I do that, it'll just bleed a lot.
29:07And it won't make it any quicker. It'll make it slower.
29:10Instead, Professor Jenkinson is gently cutting around the large tumour.
29:16We need the patience of Job.
29:20It's painstaking work.
29:22But this slow, careful process is vital to safely removing the tumour.
29:28We're pretty much all the way around this meningioma now.
29:32So it's going to start coming out.
29:37We've just got to try and get under it.
29:38The bottom of the tumour is often where there's a small blood vessel artery that's feeding the tumour.
29:47So when we're doing this, you've got to be careful not to disconnect the tumour too early.
29:53Scissors, please.
29:55Otherwise, you'll get brisk bleeding from the bottom.
29:59What we can see on the screen here is a small feeding blood vessel.
30:04So we'll just coagulate and divide that.
30:10Scissors, please.
30:12And that should detach the meningioma from the brain.
30:17Professor Jenkinson disconnects the tumour from the healthy brain tissue.
30:26Yep.
30:27There's the tumour.
30:29That's good.
30:30All out.
30:32The operation has been a success.
30:35The team is now ready to close the incision.
30:38I'm pleased with how the surgery's gone.
30:40The meningioma's come out all in one piece.
30:43We've preserved all the blood vessels and the brain around it.
30:48So hopefully he'll have a good outcome and an uncomplicated recovery.
30:52We'll be keeping a close eye on him, making sure the wound is okay, and hopefully that he doesn't have any seizures after his surgery.
31:01Back in Theatre Six, Mr. Chandrasekharan and Mr. L. Moller are operating on 77-year-old Chris.
31:17Okay, this is right.
31:19They've spent the last 25 minutes drilling the bony spurs off Chris's vertebrae.
31:24It's a bit more even now, as you can see.
31:35So this is nicely rectangular compared to what it was then.
31:38All the nasty spur is gone.
31:41Just got minimal drilling at the bottom and we're done.
31:43I can't feel any steps now.
31:46I'm feeling for the spur and the protrusions that were on the vertebral body.
31:50I can't feel now.
31:51It feels quite smooth.
31:53So we'll get one last x-ray now to see if it looks all right.
31:59Look at that.
32:01You've done a beautiful job, Mr. L. Moller.
32:03We achieved what we wanted to.
32:05Fantastic.
32:07So this is what we started off with.
32:08All those bony outgrowths, calcifications, all that parrot beak appearance that you see.
32:14And this is the end, which is kind of smooth rectangle bodies.
32:17And it's curved nicely now.
32:19All that spur is gone.
32:21I'm happy, yeah.
32:22I'm hoping he would feel better.
32:24But sometimes they've had this swallowing difficulty for such a long time
32:28that they don't recover from the pre-existing damage.
32:32But we've given him the best shot of recovery.
32:34But with a 30% chance it hasn't worked,
32:37will Chris get the result he's hoping for?
32:47It's been three hours since 52-year-old Sarah had a life-changing operation
32:52to help with her debilitating cluster headaches.
32:55I'm feeling a lot better than I thought I would.
32:59The scar in my head isn't painful.
33:02But I have a battery pack fitted at the base of my back, and that scar's very painful.
33:10But they're fantastic here.
33:11It won't be long before Sarah discovers whether the operation has been a success.
33:16I've been very excited for a long time for this.
33:19I come back next week to get everything switched on and look at frequencies.
33:24I'm not expecting to be completely pain-free.
33:28But if the level of pain can be reduced, and the frequency of attacks can all be reduced,
33:36then it's going to make a huge difference to my life.
33:3814 days ago, 77-year-old Chris had an operation to remove bone spurs from his throat,
33:58which were causing difficulties with his swallowing.
34:00Today, he is in radiology with speech therapist Melanie Taylor to carry out an assessment.
34:08So, I'm going to give you a little teaspoon of barium.
34:12I don't know if you've tasted it.
34:13Yeah, I've had barium.
34:15Of course, you've had your barium swallow.
34:17So, I'm going to ask you to hold it in your mouth until I tell you to swallow.
34:20OK.
34:22Screen.
34:30Can we play that back?
34:36This dark stuff is liquid that we've just given you.
34:39So, you're holding it in your mouth. Muscles there are all nice.
34:42But it just sits here, and you can see quite a chunk goes down into your airway,
34:49which did cause you to cough there.
34:51What we'd be looking for, really, is maybe a tiny little trace to be there, but certainly not much.
35:01Mel tests Chris with a thicker fluid to see if it's easier to swallow.
35:10Can you feel that in your throat, Chris?
35:11It's sticking.
35:12Yeah, it is.
35:14Give me a really big cough, Chris.
35:19That's it. Good. Good man.
35:21I wanted to have a look at it because sometimes the extra weight can just pull the bolus through a little bit more.
35:27So, that is sticking there quite significantly.
35:32So, at the moment, I would say it's not safe for you to have food and drink at the moment.
35:38So, our advice would be to stay nil by mouth.
35:41I want to have a really good look at these images, though, and see where we go from here, what our next steps are.
35:48Thank you very much.
35:52Chris will have to stay in hospital for further investigations.
35:56The frustration is just...
35:59It's not getting better.
36:02In this ward, there's people in worse condition than what I'm in.
36:06So, I've still got to look on the bright side.
36:10.
36:24.
36:26.
36:27.
36:31.
36:33.
36:3463 year old andrew had a brain tumor removed just 24 hours ago that's good all that
36:48after having a ct scan okay she's nice and still there andrew's surgeon professor jenkinson comes
36:57to see him morning hello how are you doing i'm all right how are you yeah feeling good great yeah
37:06nice headache but on the whole feeling okay okay you're allowed a headache yeah i'll have a rest
37:13and the wound looks all right yeah just healing up nicely it's a little bit swollen they'll come
37:19out in about a week's time right yeah that's come out about one and and how are the arms and legs
37:25feeling no i managed to get and go to the toilet a couple of times so okay and balance wasn't going
37:29over so feels a bit stronger feels a bit better yeah i feel feel good that's good excellent excellent
37:36so you've had your scan this morning your scan looks fine oh good uh the brain looks nice and relaxed so
37:42that all looks good let's make a plan to get you home tomorrow really thanks buff no problem nice
37:47to see you you too take care oh unbelievable so happy now it's like uh you're resetting the life
37:56button andrew is doing really well so the aim of the operation was to primarily stop him from getting
38:04worse we'll see andrew back in the clinic in a few weeks time we'll have the results back from the
38:10surgery this should confirm it's a meningioma as we expect and hopefully the benign non-cancerous one
38:17in just 24 hours andrew's life has been completely turned around
38:24i said to my brother-in-law that we're gonna walk the west highland way maybe in january and raise some
38:31funds for here that's my aim and get back on my bike that's my number one get back cycling
38:39okay let's drill two weeks ago chris had an operation to remove extra bone spurs from his throat
38:58wash again please
38:59it's gone a little bit pear-shaped i must admit i'm a bit uh a bit down at the moment
39:08i was hoping for a little bit of joy today but no it's not not to be take a little teaspoon of
39:14that still unable to swallow properly it's sticking
39:18chris is being fed via a tube
39:23all right thank you but surgeon mr chandra sekharan is still hopeful chris will eventually get back to
39:32normal life i'm hoping it would help him in some point because his swallow had got used to the
39:38osteophytes for such a long time that without the bony spurs it's like a new road that is given for the
39:45food and that will take some time for him to adapt to i'm still looking at the light at the end of the
39:52day and that's it that's going to shine on me and it's going to get bigger and bigger so i'm happy with that
39:58a week ago mother of four sarah underwent a procedure to have electrodes implanted in her
40:11head to help relieve the severe pain caused by cluster headaches yeah we should be in the pocket one second
40:17today she's back at the clinic to turn the electrical signal on
40:22feeling well on yourself yeah yeah feeling okay been all right advanced clinical practitioner
40:29katherine shirley will be treating sarah what is a baseline for you in terms of pain my background
40:36headache which is every day all the time that is normally at an eight but i think today the
40:43background's worse because i'm anxious yeah and then these attacks that you get is that daily daily
40:49i'm still getting the alarm clock about half two three o'clock every morning okay and a couple in
40:56the night sarah has an occipital nerve stimulator these are implanted with two leads which are put
41:03in the back of the head along the occipital nerves with a battery it's either in the chest wall abdomen
41:08or lower back whichever is most comfortable and most appropriate for the patient and that
41:12stimulates them it leads there to be able to try and block some of them signals and dampen down
41:18them symptoms which are causing their pain so when we're switching it on what we need to do is what
41:23we call paresthesia mapping you can have different options so we can have a program where you can feel
41:29it that's absolutely fine but we will give you some silent options as well okay what we really want
41:34when switching on this device to know that it's in the right place and it has the best chance of working
41:38is a sensation typically of like pins and needles tingling something around the occipital nerve and
41:44along the back of the head to let us know that we're in the right place and hopefully it should
41:47be able to do its job okay start entertain it on i can feel a little bit of something i think
41:57mm-hmm where can you feel something around here on both sides yeah okay that's nice
42:07mm-hmm that actually feels really nice that's ace sorry no it's bad
42:15oh that is amazing the realization that the headache that i have constantly 24 hours a day 365 days a
42:29year that stops me doing so much the level of it has dropped and that makes a huge difference
42:38i don't know if you understand just how much
42:43it's just being able to not have that horrible pain all the time
43:00means means a lot it's been a long time it just makes a massive difference
43:06thank you it just makes a huge difference this is going to change my life in so many ways
43:17after so many years of having to deal with it it's just going to be like a new lease of life
43:24sorry oh my days don't apologize so yeah i'm i'm really looking forward to
43:32to the future i'm going to go now before i start crying again oh don't cry
43:37don't mean to be pathetic i do apologize thank you very much bye bye see you later
43:42you
43:52so
43:52you
43:56you
44:00you
44:02you
Recommended
56:56
|
Up next
44:50
45:12
44:59
56:56
28:30
24:31
51:03
44:17
56:39
44:04
41:18
23:30
41:30
24:33
1:05:55
29:33
40:29
1:11:41
Be the first to comment