A woman has gone home within hours of having major surgery to remove a brain tumour, thanks to a pioneering approach undertaken at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Michelle Steers, 55, was successfully discharged home the same day as undergoing a craniotomy to remove a benign meningioma at Sheffield’s Royal Hallamshire Hospital in August this year in a north of England first.
The four-hour operation, led by Consultant Neurosurgeon Mr Veejay Bagga and a team of nurses, theatre staff and anaesthetists, typically requires a postoperative hospital stay of 2-4 days.
Michelle, who lives in Rotherham, said she was “ecstatic” to be back home exactly 12 hours after having her surgery, which involves removing a small part of the skull to reach and remove the tumour.
She was supported by an enhanced recovery programme which included early mobilisation and counselling to minimise post-operative stress. The surgical procedure, which is not performed anywhere else in the region, was carried out by Mr Bagga, a Fellowship trained specialist brain tumour surgeon.
Regional first
It is the first time a patient undergoing this type of complex brain surgery has successfully been discharged the same day as their operation at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Same day discharge for brain surgery is very rare in both the UK and across the world, with the only other Centre in the UK known to have achieved this feat being Southampton.
Michelle, who was diagnosed with meningioma, a common brain tumour that starts in the delicate tissues that cover the brain and spinal cord, in December last year, came in for her surgery at 7am.
"I was taken down to theatre at 8.30am and I remember getting back on the ward and looking at the clock, and it was about 12 o’clock. Later on, I was up and about, and they said it was safe to discharge me home. I can’t tell you how good it’s been. It’s been absolutely brilliant.”
But the journey to have her operation has not been easy – and Michelle, who has been a bus driver for 20 years, had to give up her job as she’s not currently able to drive.
“My whole world fell apart. I was having constant, pulsating pain in my head, headaches, earaches and my speech was affected too. It was my choice to have the surgery – it potentially could have been left where it was – but I felt I couldn’t carry on as I was.”
'It was like having my tooth pulled'
Since having her surgery Michelle says she’s continued to feel “brilliant” and she’s now starting to look for work again – and is even thinking about applying for jobs in the NHS.
“I’m back to normal now, I’ve had no pain and I’m building up my strength again. It’s like I’ve never had a brain tumour – I can’t even see the scar, it’s so tiny, and they didn’t even have to shave my head due to the surgical technique they used. The operation was fantastic – it was like having a tooth pulled. I’m so grateful to the team.”
Mr Veejay Bagga, Consultant Neurosurgeon and lead Neurosurgeon for Neuro-Oncology at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said:
“This is a fantastic achievement for Sheffield Teaching Hospitals. Removing even the simplest of tumours in and around the brain has risks, but everything went as planned and there were no complications. The tumour was in a favourable position and Michelle was fit and well going into the surgery, meaning that with the right support and counselling both before and after surgery we were able to mobilise her early and get her home on the same day.
“Having recently retained our accreditation as a Tessa Jowell Centre of Excellence for brain tumour care, this achievement further builds on our reputation as a leading centre for brain tumour care. It’s also good news for our wider services as with this safe approach, we can treat more appropriate patients in a timely manner.”
Although this type of brain surgery is not suitable for all patients, Mr Bagga added that same discharge was an opportunity to develop the service further, improving outcomes, recovery and quality of life for patients undergoing life-altering complex brain surgical procedures.
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust performs around 200 brain tumour surgeries a year.