Rare neurosurgical procedure performed

Rawalpindi

Professor of Neurosurgery and Consultant Neurosurgeon at a private healthcare facility along Peshawar Road Dr. Aslan Javed Munir performed a rare neurosurgical procedure through a microsurgical technique Microvascular Decompression (MVD).

Colonel (r) Dr. Aslan, former Head of Department of Neurosurgery at CMH Rawalpindi operated a young lady with intractable hemifacial spasm through the difficult procedure called MVD. This operation is unique in a sense that it has never been performed earlier at any of the hospitals of the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

MVD is a surgical treatment designed to treat facial pain or facial spasm that is refractory to medical therapies.

Talking to ‘The News’, Dr. Aslan said that hemifacial spasm is a rare disease. It is characterized by irregular, involuntary muscle contractions on one side of the face. The most frequent cause is a blood vessel pressing on the facial nerve, the seventh brain nerve which controls muscles of face, he explained.

He added a technically challenging operation, microvascular decompression relieves pressure on the facial nerve. Resultantly, serious complications can follow these surgeries even when performed by experienced surgeons. The young lady who was operated through MVD is now completely cured of this nagging illness, he said.

Studies reveal that during MVD, surgeons separate the painful nerve from the offending vessel using a tiny Teflon sponge, thus relieving the pressure and allowing the nerve to heal. MVD involves the use of general anaesthesia and brain surgery and is therefore not typically the first line of treatment. However when the condition is extreme and/or more conservative care has been exhausted, this procedure can be extremely effective.

Dr. Aslan said it is alarming that the number of cases with different neurosurgical problems including patients with complaints of backache, neck pain and slipped discs along with brain and spinal tumours has been on the rise in Pakistan.

Neurosurgical procedures are quite expensive and almost unaffordable for a large proportion of population in our country, he said. He added there is a need for developing dedicated and specialised centres that can provide free treatment to the poor and needy. “I am conducting every tenth surgery free of cost to accommodate poor people,” he said while responding to a query.

He added that there is still a shortage of neurosurgeons and the gap between our large population and specialists is widening.

Dr. Aslan who is also the supervisor and examiner of FCPS candidates at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Karachi emphasised on need to educate masses regarding unhealthy lifestyles including diet, physical inactivity, obesity, odd working hours and postures while sitting, watching TV and long hours at computers, use of helmets and seat belts on roads etc.

Dr. Aslan said that like the developed countries, early reporting of symptoms related to neurological problems including continuous headache, sight problems and pains related to spine can be helpful in reducing the incidence of brain and spinal tumours.