Girl 'youngest' to have conscious brain surgery for condition
A 16-year-old girl has become the youngest patient to undergo a conscious craniotomy to treat a life-threatening arteriovenous malformation. Surgeons kept her awake during the procedure to map and protect critical brain functions related to speech and movement.
Why it matters
This medical milestone demonstrates advancements in neurosurgical techniques that allow for safer removal of complex brain abnormalities while preserving patient quality of life.
Image source, Clare Phillips Image caption, Tilly said the condition felt like a "ticking time bomb"
A teenager has become the world's youngest known patient to have brain surgery to treat a particular blood vessel abnormality, hospital bosses have said.
Tilly Phillips, now 16, was 15 when she underwent the conscious craniotomy procedure at Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool.
The 12-hour procedure was to resolve an arteriovenous malformation, which is an abnormal tangle of blood vessels that causes seizures and can be fatal.
Tilly, from Warrington, Cheshire, said the condition had felt like a "ticking time bomb" and that her life had been "on hold".
As well as causing seizures, the abnormality was also close to areas of the brain controlling speech, movement and vision.
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