RIYADH, 6 January 2008 — A team of Saudi surgeons at King Fahd Medical City (KFMC) in Riyadh removed a tumor found in the front part of the brain stem of a seven-year-old boy. Explaining the unique surgery, KFMC Chief Executive Officer Dr. Abdullah Al-Amro told newsmen yesterday that this was the first time a hospital in the Middle East has ventured to carry out such a surgery.
“Three weeks ago, Abdullah, whose parents are well educated, came to KFMC complaining of an unending headache, deterioration in vision, nausea and vomiting,” Amro said, adding that the medical team headed by Dr. Mahmoud Al-Yamani took five days to diagnose the case and the medical team decided to perform the surgery instead of radiation therapy.
“We consulted three international experts on brain tumors and they advised us to follow radiation therapy saying that the removal of the brain tumor was risky since the tumor was found in the front part of the brain stem,” Amro said, adding that the KFMC team decided to go ahead with the removal of the tumor with the parents’ approval.
Speaking to Arab News, Yamani pointed out that such a tumor normally appears at the back of the brain stem, but this was a rare case. The 30-hour operation was performed in two phases by a team of nine surgeons.
