Mater Brisbane space-age robot laser surgery saves woman with brain tumours

An Aussie woman with brain tumours has been saved thanks to a new space-age surgery.

Evangeline Lim’s cancer treatment has been revolutionised by robot laser surgery.

New space-age robotic brain surgery has saved the life of an Aussie woman with brain tumours.

While traditional brain surgery would likely have left Evangeline Lim in a wheelchair, the innovative robot-guided laser technology has given her hope of a full recovery.

Ms Lim, 61, has been battling a rare type of lung cancer since 2016 and was referred to Mater Private Hospital Brisbane neurosurgeon Sarah Olson after the cancer spread to her brain and began to impact her mobility.

The minimally invasive Visualase system uses live MRI tracking and robotic alignment technology to guide a fibre-optic laser probe to the site of a tumour.

The laser then kills the tumour by heating the tissue to around 60C, in a procedure known as laser interstitial thermal therapy (LiTT).

Mrs Lim, who works as an accountant, said she was amazed to be able to return to her Hope Island home just days after LiTT surgery destroyed her two brain tumours.

“Almost straight away I could feel the changes in the left side of my body – it was like magic,” Mrs Lim said.

“Before having the surgery, my foot would drop when I walked.

“I had reduced my hours of work because using the computer was slow and difficult.

Neurosurgeon Sarah Olson

“Even walking up the stairs was so hard, and also everyday tasks such as cooking and cleaning.

“The operation was life-changing.”

Mater Private Hospital Brisbane was the first hospital in the southern hemisphere to adopt the US-developed Visualase LiTT system, which is also used to treat epilepsy patients.

Dr Olson said the technology allows surgical teams to insert a laser probe through a small skin incision in the skull, without the need for highly invasive brain surgery.

Patient recovery times are faster and neurological complications are less common.

“Evangeline had terrible brain swelling related to the cancer metastasising in her motor area,” she said.

“Traditional surgery would have required a large opening in the skull and almost certainly would have made Evangeline weaker and unable to walk.”

The $1m LiTT equipment was funded by the community through Mater Foundation.

Mater Foundation chief executive Andrew Thomas said thanks to community donations, the purchase of new state-of-the-art medical equipment was able to improve patient care and outcomes.

“This would not have been possible without the generosity of kind-hearted Queenslanders,” Mr Thomas said.

Originally published as Mater Brisbane space-age robot laser surgery saves woman with brain tumours