Ranchi: Shrinath Nath Pandit, a 46-year-old priest from Deoghar, Jharkhand, had been facing an unexpected battle with memory lapses and speech difficulties since September 2023. Initially dismissing these symptoms as stress-related, his health condition worsened, leading to severe headaches and vomiting.
Concerned for his well-being, his family sought urgent medical attention and met Dr. Amlan Mandal, a senior neurologist in his Clinic who detected the seriousness of the case and immediately referred Mr. Pandit to Dr. Amitabha Chanda at Narayana Hospital RN Tagore Hospital Mukundpur.
An MRI revealed a sizable tumor in Mr. Pandit’s left side of Brain, prompting a swift referral by Dr. Mandal to Dr. Amitabha Chanda who is a pioneer of Awake Brain Surgery (Awake Craniotomy) for Brain Tumor removal in Eastern India.
After admission, a team of doctors led by Dr. Amitabha Chanda, Senior Consultant – Brain & Spine Surgery at Narayana Hospital RN Tagore Hospital, Mukundapur swung into action and successfully performed an Awake Brain Surgery (Crainitomy) to save the life of the patient.
Dr. Amitabh Chanda said, “The complexity of Mr. Pandit’s case required a delicate approach. The tumour was located close toto critical brain areas thatcontrol speech and memory. A slightest of mistake while removing the tumour could have resulted in permanent loss of memory or speech impairment for the patient. Hence we opted for awake brain surgery.”
Dr. Chanda said, “During the surgery the patient was awake throughout, and we kept talking to him to ensure that his ability to speak was not getting impacted. If we noticed even a minor change in his speech during surgery, we could take corrective measures immediately.”
Awake brain surgery (Crainitomy), a cutting-edge procedure involves operating on the brain while the patient remains awake and responsive. This approach minimizes the risk of damaging functional brain tissue, particularly vital in cases like Mr. Pandit’s, where the tumor encroached upon critical speech and memory centers.
