3D brain surgery: using a scope to remove a tumour via the nose

Surgeons at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham are the first in the UK to use 3D technology to help them remove a brain tumour.

Mr Shahzada Ahmed who carried out the procedure said: "A bit like going to the movies, Avatar is a great movie in 2D but it is an even better one in 3D."

Combining both 3D and high definition technology in keyhole surgery is not new. For the past few years it has been used to perform operations on the bowel and bladder and other areas of the body that are in relative easy-reach.

But employing this equipment near the brain has proved difficult until now because the scopes were generally too big and inflexible.

When 71-year-old Elizabeth Watson had brain surgery, her entire surgical team donned 3D glasses and staring at high definition screens, took the benign tumour out through her nose.

Mr Ahmed speaks about how he performed the operation and the possible advantages of the new scope.