This actually is brain surgery…

In late November our crew was once again in Italy working with long standing Spike clients and global brand leader, LMA, to film one of the most critical medical procedures – the Awake Craniotomy (open brain surgery) to remove a brain tumor (click here to watch the film).

This procedure involves the patient being put to sleep with a general anaesthetic while the surgeons gain access to the brain, then the patient is brought back to a conscious state while the delicate removal of the tumor is carried out. Throughout the procedure speech specialists communicate with the patient to monitor any deterioration of speech patterns which would signal potential damage to the brain. This film explains why the LMA Supreme(TM) is the tool of choice for this type of complex procedure, and how the anaesthesia team manage the patient’s conscious state and pain control.

Before we started filming I was very nervous about how I would react to seeing a live brain – but as soon as the patient was wheeled in I swung into action and there was no time for feeling nervous. During the seven hour procedure there were about twenty people in the room performing various essential tasks – and one Australian cameraman trying to stay out the way whilst capturing all the action! The Italian Neuro-surgery team were absolute professionals and it was a career highlight for me to see them in action.

But be warned – this film is a medical case study and contains some graphic surgical footage.