Although benign and slow-growing, the skull base tumor as it grows compresses structures crucial to the proper functioning of the nervous system. When they exceed four centimeters, this type of tumor is already considered a giant, so the operation was risky.
Usually performed abroad, the surgery was successfully performed last week in the hospital "Dr. Agostinho Neto", and the patient, 51 years old, is recovering reasonably well, writes Angop.
The surgery lasted for six hours. The surgical team, composed by five professionals, was led by neurosurgeon Emanuel Silva, 31 years old, who has been working in that hospital for about a year and a half.
Emanuel Silva, speaking to Angop, explained that the patient had been living with that tumor for more than five years. He added that the tumor (which measured 7.3 centimeters wide and 7.4 long) caused strong headaches and psychological changes in the patient.
According to the doctor, the patient had inconsistent speech, was uninterested in daily activities, was careless with personal hygiene, and also had visual and olfactory changes, leading to convulsive crises that led to hospitalization.
Classifying this surgery as "special", the neurosurgeon explained that these types of cases are usually treated in countries with access to state-of-the-art technology.
"Skull base tumors are difficult to access, which is why it is a complex surgery, since they are located in deep areas of the skull and are directly related to vital neurovascular structures.
Emanuel Silva also made it known that during two weeks the medical team studied, down to the smallest detail, the approach method to avoid complications.
Among the main difficulties that the surgical team had to face is the lack of surgical materials, such as microscope to help in the vision and control of the tumor removal, means to reduce operative bleeding, among others, pointed out the doctor.
On his Facebook, the neurosurgeon praised the achievement, admitting that despite the adversities, they managed to succeed. "Despite the difficulties and adversities we were able to perform this case on national territory," he wrote.
