The first brain surgery in the country was successfully performed by the team of specialists at Mater Dei. ‘Awake Craniotomy’ is a special brain surgery that is performed to safely remove tumours or lesions in the brain, while maintaining important functions such as thinking, memory, recognition of emotions and movement among others.

Minister for Health and Active Ageing Jo Etienne Abela explained that this intervention is being performed with the support of monitoring and tests during the operation.

He explained that in this way, doctors can remove as much of the lesion or tumour as possible without damaging important brain functions. This helps to improve long-term results, increasing the chance of survival while improving the quality of life and allowing patients to return to work.

Minister Abela said that “our country now has a specialised team at Mater Dei Hospital to perform these operations.” He stressed that this is a very important step because through this operation, patients will now be treated in Malta close to their families.

Through this operation, the healing process is being facilitated while reducing the time between the operation and other treatments such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy. All this while maintaining the same high standards of care.

“I thank Dr Jasmina Djukic and the team of professionals at Mater Dei Hospital. This leap in quality in healthcare means that patients are now benefiting by being treated in our own country without sending patients abroad. At the same time, our specialists specialise further and continue to improve care for future generations,” concluded Dr Abela.

Photo: DOI

Permalink: First brain surgery successfully performed in Malta