Brain surgeries, one of the most difficult operations, yet the most evolved technique with patients being awake throughout the procedure. Awake craniotomy is a surgical technique performed on patients with brain tumours in or near critical brain areas. Patients are awake during their surgery, often captured doing what they like, to keep themselves calm. Over time, many videos and photos have surfaced on the internet that shows patients engaged in other activities while doctors perform surgery on them. Now, a video of a 33-year-old patient watching a TV reality show Bigg Boss and Hollywood film; Avatar is going viral on social media. The incident took place in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh.

Awake brain surgery is a type of procedure performed on the brain while you are awake and alert. In June this year, an Italian woman was captured preparing traditional stuffed olives while doctors were performing surgery on her. Another man in 2018 was captured reciting Hanuman Chalisa during the operation. Again, in the same year, a UK woman was seen singing songs and cracking jokes with doctors during her surgery. And can we ever forget one of the most soulful moments, when a patient was captured playing the violin while the doctors were performing an operation on her? The videos, pictures and so on proves the evolution of awake brain surgery over the past years.

The recent, 33-year-old patient, identified as Vara Prasad was enjoying the TV reality show and the sci-fi movie, on a laptop, the surgery reportedly to remove recurrent glioma from his left premotor area abutting the mortal cortex was conducted by a trio of doctors. The surgeons were identified in reports as Dr BH Srinivas Reddy, Dr Seshadri Sekhar (neurosurgeons), and Dr Trinadh (Anaesthetist) from Government General Hospital of Guntur.

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During this kind of surgery, patients receive standard ‘asleep-awake-asleep’ anaesthesia. A doctor keeps the patient engaged during this time by asking him or her to read or answer simple questions or do other activities, he or she likes, while probing the exposed brain tissue with a mild current.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 22, 2020 02:41 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).