First-ever successful brain tumour surgery performed in Hazara

Abbottabad: A young gold medalist doctor at the Benazir Bhutto Shaheed DHQ Teaching Hospital Abbottabad has successfully performed the first-ever brain tumour surgery.

Dr Shah Khalid, who is trained from the Aga Khan University Hospital Karachi, successfully performed the surgery using advanced equipment and specialised anaesthesia techniques.

The three-hour-long surgery was carried out on a 33-year-old patient, Faisal, a resident of Mansehra who had recently returned from Dubai.

Faisal was brought to the hospital with a tumour in his brain. After undergoing diagnostic tests, surgery was recommended. However, there was no suitable equipment available across the province to make such a complex procedure possible.

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Dr Shah Khalid had to bring “neuronavigation” machine from Lahore to perform the surgery.

After a successful three-hour operation, 95 per cent of the tumour was removed while the remaining five per cent will be treated through radiation.

Talking to the media, Dr Khalid said the surgery was a major challenge. “Even the slightest mistake could have left the patient permanently paralysed,” he said.

“Only the brain was to be anaesthetised — the patient had to remain conscious throughout. This was a difficult task, but one I had trained for, and it paid off. The patient is now recovering.”

He added that a dedicated neurology unit has now been launched at the Benazir Bhutto Shaheed DHQ Teaching Hospital where all neurological conditions can be treated. “I have come here from the Aga University Khan Hospital Karachi to serve the people of this underprivileged region and will continue to do so,” he said.

He also thanked Medical Officer Dr Amir Israr for his support in making the neurology unit operational.