Leeds nurse has head tumor removed via keyhole operation in UK for first time

A nurse has become the first person in the UK to have an operation in which a tumor was removed from her eye socket using keyhole surgery.

Ruvimbo Kaviya, 40, from Leeds, had a meningioma removed from the space under his brain and behind his eyes.

Many of these types of tumors would previously have been considered inoperable due to their location in an area called the cavernous sinus.

Experts at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust performed the operation several times before Ms Kaviya’s operation using 3D technology.

Previously, an operation to remove such a tumor in the same part of the head required complex brain surgery, involving the removal of a large part of the skull and risking complications.

Ms Kaviya said the tumor caused her to suffer headaches that “felt like an electric shock to my face”, which meant she was sometimes unable to eat or brush her teeth.

The mother-of-three said: “It was very stressful and difficult.

“So when they told me they were going to do the operation, they couldn’t say it was going to be perfect and that there were risks.

“It was the first time they had done this procedure. I had no choice but to agree because the pain was just too much. I didn’t even think it was the first time, all I needed was to take it off.”

The operation, which took place in February last year, lasted just three hours and Ms Kaviya was up and walking around later that day.

Neurosurgeon Asim Sheikh said technological advances meant tumors like those suffered by Ms Kaviya were now less risky to treat.

He said: “This is a difficult area to reach, and this allows direct access without any compromise on pressure on the brain.

“So this is only coming to us in areas that were once considered unusable, but are now accessible.”

Biomedical engineer Lisa Ferrie, head of the trust’s 3D planning service, made a model of the patient’s skull so the surgical team could rehearse the operation before carrying it out.

She said: “This technology allowed the team to study his anatomy in detail and prepare for surgery with unparalleled precision.

“Seeing the model and knowing that he contributed to this groundbreaking operation is incredibly rewarding.”

Ms Kaviya was left with a small scar near her left eye, but returned to work treating stroke patients three months after the operation.

She said: “When I had the operation I thought I might be in hospital for weeks or months and I would be home in a few days.

“I had double vision for about three months, but everything else was fine.”

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