A teenager, now 16, is thought to be the youngest person ever to have undergone brain surgery while conscious. The procedure, a conscious craniotomy, was performed when she was 15 at Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool.
Complex Procedure Addresses Arteriovenous Malformation
The 12-hour surgery was necessary to treat an arteriovenous malformation (AVM), an abnormal cluster of blood vessels that can lead to seizures and be fatal. The AVM was located near critical areas of the brain responsible for speech, movement, and vision. Tilly Phillips, from Warrington, Cheshire, described her condition as feeling like a "ticking time bomb" that had put her life on hold.
During the operation, surgeons temporarily woke Phillips for approximately 30 minutes. This allowed them to map the brain's crucial functions in real time, ensuring that vital tissue was protected during the removal of the AVM. Although Phillips has no memory of being awake during this part of the surgery, medical staff reported that she was coherent and able to complete tasks such as naming objects.
Clinical psychologist Cathy Grant explained that electrical stimulation was used to briefly interrupt Phillips's ability to name objects. This technique helped surgeons identify and safeguard the specific brain tissue that needed to be preserved. Phillips suggested that the sedation and subsequent memory issues might be the reason she does not recall being aware during the surgery.