Surgeon uses DIY drill to remove brain tumour
By Stephen Adams
Last Updated: 9:35am GMT 17/03/2008
A leading brain surgeon used a £30 DIY drill to carry out a successful operation on a fully conscious patient.
The power-tools of the trade
Henry Marsh used a Bosch PSR960 cordless drill because he did not have his normal equipment on him.
The do-it-yourself 9.6 volt drill cost one thousand times less the price of his preferred tool - a £30,000 compressed air medical drill.
But Mr Marsh had to use the Bosch because he was on a trip to Ukraine in Eastern Europe to help people let down by a vastly inadequate health system.
Halfway through the operation to remove the tumour from Marian Dolishny's head, the power ran out.
Thankfully the neurosurgeon, who normally practises at St George's Hospital in Tooting, south, London, was able the complete the operation and save a life.
advertisementHe later said: "I'm not recommending that we should all use Bosch do-it-yourself drills in England, but it shows how with improvisation you can achieve a lot."
The teeth-gritting procedure was captured on film for a BBC2 documentary into Mr Marsh's unusual exploits, called The English Surgeon, to be aired on March 30.
His patient was only given local anaesthetic because he could not find a fully trained anaesthetist.
However, he said this gave him the reassuring benefit of being able to talk to his patient, to ensure that he was not inflicting brain damage.
He attached normal medical drill bits to the Bosch but admitted the operation was not that comfortable for his patient - saying Ukranians could bear it because they were tough.
His patient was also facing the prospect of death if the tumour was not removed soon.
Mr Marsh, 58, began travelling to Ukraine 15 years ago when he was invited to give a series of lectures at a hospital.
He found a health service so bankrupt and burdened with bureaucracy that benign tumours would be left until they caused blindness or bulged out of patients' heads before anything was done.
Since then he has returned twice a year on private visits to carry out voluntary surgery with the help of a Ukranian neurosurgeon, Igor Petrovich.
Mr Marsh said: "I couldn't bear to stand by and do nothing. A Ukrainian doctor told me I couldn't do anything to help but I wasn't prepared to accept that."
Each time he goes out he brings equipment that has been discarded from the NHS.
