Saudi surgeon successfully removes brain tumor of a Kuwaiti girl in Paris

Hani bin Talal al-Johani, a Saudi neurosurgery specialist at Colmar Hospital in France, has successfully removed the brain tumor of a young Kuwaiti girl, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Saturday.

The girl had gone to Paris to have the surgery done by a famous French surgeon and had completed all the check-ups and procedures ahead of the operation. But the surgeon regretted and canceled the operation at the eleventh hour because of the coronavirus outbreak which made all the intensive care units in France filled to the capacity.

The Kuwaiti medical attaché contacted several renowned hospitals, requesting that they perform the surgery, but no one was willing to look into her case, even though the girl’s condition was going from bad to worse because she was epileptic.

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It was then that girl’s brother sought the help of al-Johani through social media. Then he was also approached by the medical attaché.

“I proposed having the surgery performed at the hospital where I work, but the hospital's administration refused, as it is located in an area which is among the most affected by the coronavirus. But I persisted for two weeks, however, and the administration eventually agreed to conduct the operation,” al-Johani told SPA.

He said the surgery was one of the riskiest operations as the tumor was at the bottom of the skull close to the blood vessels of the brain.

It required that the patient remained in the operating room for seven hours. Al-Johani said he was under massive stress because he had taken on the surgery on his own, without the support of the hospital.

He said the patient was able to move all her limbs soon after the operation and left the hospital after four hours, although she was expected to stay in the hospital for 10 days.

Al-Johani who is a faculty member of Qaseem University in Saudi Arabia, was sent to France to do a medical fellowship in Neurosurgery at the University Hospital in Strasbourg. After three years of fellowship, he joined Colmar Hospital as a surgeon.

He is an accredited surgeon in France and has successfully conducted several surgeries without any supervision.