Dr. Wu Zongyang reminds people that if they experience headache, dizziness, unsteady gait or vomiting that lasts for more than 2 to 3 days, they should seek neurosurgery evaluation as soon as possible.
[Reporter Chen Jianzhi/Taichung Report] A 41-year-old woman surnamed Chen is a breast cancer patient. She has been experiencing frequent dizziness and vomiting recently. She thought it was just a side effect of chemotherapy. After going to the hospital for treatment, the doctor arranged a brain examination and surprisingly found a 3.7-centimeter metastatic swelling in the cerebellum. The tumor was accompanied by severe cerebral edema and also compressed the brainstem. Due to the critical condition, a self-funded "AIRO intraoperative navigation craniotomy" was arranged to completely remove the tumor with the help of precise positioning and high-tech equipment, successfully resolving intracranial hypertension and the life-threatening crisis of the brainstem.
Wu Zongyang, a neurosurgeon at Chang'an Hospital, said that the patient was undergoing treatment for breast cancer, but recently she developed unbearable dizziness and vomiting. At first, she thought it was just a side effect of the drug, but after going to the hospital for examination, it was discovered that there was a 3.7-centimeter tumor on the right cerebellum, with severe edema around it, causing the cerebellar midline to shift to the left and mild hydrocephalus. Because the size of the tumor has compressed the vital center of the brainstem, if craniotomy is not performed in time to remove and decompress, it may cause fatal brain herniation at any time.
Wu Zongyang said that in order to accurately avoid nerves and blood vessels in the narrow back of the head, the patient underwent craniotomy with the self-paid "AIRO intraoperative computed tomography 3D navigation system". AIRO can provide real-time high-resolution images during the operation, helping the team to accurately locate the tumor boundary and depth, shorten the time to find the lesion, protect normal cerebellar tissue, and significantly improve the accuracy of the operation.
In addition, the self-funded "CUSA Ultrasonic Tumor Aspirator" was also introduced during the surgery. Compared with traditional surgery that cuts or pulls the tumor, which can easily damage surrounding tissues, CUSA uses high-frequency ultrasound to shatter the tumor and simultaneously aspirate it, which has the characteristics of selectively destroying the lesion while protecting surrounding blood vessels and nerves. With the assistance of CUSA and high-end microscopes, deep hemostasis was successfully achieved, the tumor was completely removed, intracranial hypertension was resolved, and the patient's postoperative dizziness and vomiting were significantly relieved.
Wu Zongyang pointed out that clinically, cancer brain metastases are suitable for surgery only when they "have caused substantial compression" or "are confirmed to have only a single brain metastasis"; generally speaking, chemotherapy or radiotherapy is usually given priority to control the overall condition. The public is reminded that if they experience headache, dizziness, unsteady gait or vomiting that lasts for more than 2 to 3 days, they should seek neurosurgery evaluation as soon as possible to strive for the best opportunity for treatment through "early detection and precise decompression".
