Operations close to the brain’s motor centres are common (one in three brain tumours) and risky. If the surgeon has to remove a tumour from this area, incidental damage to motor pathways risks causing the patient to lose the use of an arm or leg. In order to prevent this, in 2014 neurosurgeons at the Inselspital in Bern developed a new safety instrument – the first of its kind in the world – which enables surgeons to operate near motor pathways or centres without endangering the safety of the operation.

Long-term study proves patient safety

Neurosurgeons in Bern have already used this method to operate on more than 200 patients, 182 of whom were included in a long-term study. This study showed that the surgical instrument permits enables tumours to be removed from areas close to the brain’s motor centres and pathways at low risk, significantly reducing the chance of long-term paralysis. More specifically, the rate of permanent restrictions in mobility after the operations conducted in Bern was just 3%, one of the lowest in the world. The procedure also excelled at an international level, with Dr Kathleen Seidel and Professor Andreas Raabe receiving the prize for the best paper at the annual meeting of the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies in Madrid on 21 October.