Grandfather receives pioneering UK-first operation to treat brain issue

A man has been spared from undergoing a craniotomy after surgeons performed a UK-first operation displacing his eye to treat a brain problem.

Andrew Wood was “shocked” when he discovered that he had a brain aneurysm – a swelling in a blood vessel in the brain which can be fatal if they burst.

He would usually have needed a craniotomy – where surgeons cut off a proportion of the skull and move the brain to get to the affected area and provide treatment.

But experts from Leeds have used a pioneering technique to get to the aneurysm – though Mr Wood’s eye socket.

Surgeons at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust performed a keyhole brain aneurysm operation though the eye socket – the first time this operation has ever been carried out in the UK.

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

Mr Wood was in hospital for just one night after the procedure, when traditionally patients would be in hospital for around a week.

The 61-year-old grandfather, who works as a builder, returned to work in May just a few weeks after the pioneering operation in February.

The aneurysm was found while Mr Wood was being scanned for a separate medical issue last spring.

Published: 19/05/2026 by Radio NewsHub