Brit Grandad Undergoes Groundbreaking Eye Socket Brain Surgery and Returns Home Just Hours Later!

A GRANDAD has undergone brain surgery through his eye socket in a UK-first, saving part of his skull from being cut off and his brain moved.

Andrew Wood, 61, was shocked to discover he had a brain aneurysm last , but instead of having a craniotomy he was told he could have a “pioneering” procedure through his eye socket.

Andrew Wood had brain surgery through his eye socket to get to an aneurysm in a UK-first operation Credit: PA Speaking to his surgeons here, he avoided having his skull cut open and his brain moved by going through this much less invasive procedure Credit: PA

A craniotomy is a type of brain surgery where surgeons cut off a proportion of the skull and move the brain to get to the affected area and provide treatment.

It typically requires patients to be in hospital for a week after the procedure.

But surgeons at Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust used a much less invasive approach to get to Andrew’s brain – a technique which only requires a one night stay in hospital.

Doctors performed a keyhole brain aneurysm operation through his eye socket – the first time this operation has ever been carried out in the UK.

Andrew’s surgery was much less invasive than a craniotomy and he only had to stay in hospital for one night after the procedure Credit: PA Surgeons accessed Andrew’s aneurysm through this eye socket without even touching his brain Credit: PA

A brain aneurysm is a swelling in a blood vessel in the brain which can be fatal if it bursts.

If there is a risk of the aneurysm bursting, or if it has already burst, surgical clipping is often carried out, where a tiny metal clip is attached to the blood vessel in the brain to stop blood flowing into the aneurysm.

This technique was used in Andrew’s case, but rather than cut open his skull, it was done through his eye socket.

Consultant neurosurgeon Asim Sheikh said: “This meant that we could directly access the aneurysm without even having to touch the brain.

Andrew, a builder, was being scanned for a separate medical issue last spring when his aneurysm was discovered.

He said: “I was shocked. I didn’t have any symptoms whatsoever.

“Mr Sheikh got his hands on my case and it just went 100 miles an hour from there.

“I’m in the building trade so the way it was explained to me was: you can do something causing minimum damage and get the same result.

Andrew was keen to have a surgery that would cause minimum damage with little down time Credit: PA He had the surgery in February and returned to work in May Credit: PA

“I thought it was great.”

As part of the minimally invasive surgery surgeons made a “tiny” incision at the side of Andrew’s eye and a cut on the outer wall of the eye socket to gain access to the aneurysm.

The operation was performed in February and the builder was back to work in May after just a few weeks off.

Andrew said: “I was in hospital for just one night.

“I was asked to make some toast and a cup of tea to make sure my faculties were OK, I had another quick scan and then they asked if I wanted to go home.

“It has been perfect since, I’ve had no double vision, no pain, I’m back at work – just have to watch out that I don’t hit myself with a two by four.”

The team who did the procedure had performed a similar operation in 2024 when they removed a brain tumour through a patient’s eye socket, which was another UK-first.

Mr Sheikh said: “As we gained more experience, we realised that the same approach could be used to access other pathologies in the similar area – in Andrew’s case a brain aneurysm.

“His aneurysm happened to be in a very easily accessible area, which would have been perfect for this technique.

“And that means he can get the best of both worlds of the surgical treatment of his aneurysm – the best possible, durable cure for his aneurysm while cutting down on the drawbacks of having surgery including big cuts and scars, big incisions on the head and also the morbidity of going through the brain and retracting the brain – all that is completely taken away by this minimal access surgery.”

So how did the surgery actually work?

Biomechanical engineers from the hospital created a bespoke 3D printed model of Andrew’s eye socket and surrounding skull base anatomy as well as the aneurysm.

This allowed Mr Sheikh and consultant maxillofacial surgeon Jiten Parmar to prepare and rehearse the procedure, tailored specifically to the builder’s anatomy.

Mr Sheikh said the operation is a “significant step forward in minimally invasive brain surgery in the UK”, adding that surgeons “didn’t even have to touch the brain”.

This is a bespoke 3D printed model of Andrew’s eye socket which surgeon’s used to practice the procedure Credit: PA

This meant that the morbidity of the operation itself was “substantially reduced.”

Experts at the hospital also 3D-printed custom-made retractors to protect Andrew’s eye during the procedure.

Mr Sheikh said: “That meant we weren’t pushing on the eyeball as well, and that created the corridor which allowed us to access the aneurysm.”

Andrew thanked the surgical team for their incredible work, saying he has been “given a second chance”.

He said: “I’m really grateful for their kindness and expertise – they are an outstanding team.

I’m proud to have been part of such an important procedure and I’m amazed at how quickly I recovered and returned home.”