British surgeons are performing brain surgery through nose described as a world leading technique

British surgeons are carrying out cutting edge brain surgery - by operating through the nose.

The procedure, being used at Southampton General Hospital, is used to remove skull base tumours and is performed entirely by entering the skull through the nose, known as endonasal endoscopic skull base surgery.

Indian consultant skull base neurosurgeon Nijaguna Mathad and ENT surgeon Salil Nair have pioneered the procedure at the hospital's Wessex Neurological Centre.

Using the surgery has enabled them to reach tumours at the base of the skull and at the top of the spine using an endoscope that transmits images onto a high definition TV screen in the operating theatre.

Previously, neurosurgeons would have had to split the facial skeleton or peel back the scalp and remove the skull on the forehead to complete the same operation.

"This minimal access and maximal invasive procedure is at the cutting edge of neurosurgery," Mr Mathad said.

"One of the first patients we used this technique on was suffering from a tumour with an erosion of the skull base.

"Conventionally, he would have undergone a bifrontal craniotomy with its associated risks of epilepsy and stroke. It would also have required the patient to remain in hospital for a number of days and restricted them from driving afterwards.

"By using the endonasal endoscopic procedure, we were able to reach the tumour with minor disturbance to the surrounding parts of the brain and did not need to make incisions on the head, which would have resulted in a longer hospital stay."

Mr Mathad added: "The patient made an uneventful recovery and was discharged from hospital within 48 hours, which was a truly short stay for such a major procedure."