In Astana, a three-month-old baby with craniosynostosis underwent surgery using a minimally invasive endoscopic technique, the website infohub.kz reports.
The procedure took about an hour instead of the three to four hours an open operation might have required. The new method was used for the first time at the S. S. Kizatullin City Multidisciplinary Children's Hospital No. 2.
The parents sought medical help because of the unusual shape of their child's head. At first, a private clinic reassured them that it was simply a trait of the baby. But after an examination by another specialist and a computed tomography scan, sagittal craniosynostosis was diagnosed — a condition in which one of the sutures between the skull bones fuses prematurely. This causes the shape of the head to change.
During endoscopic strip craniectomy, surgeons use a camera and special instruments, working through small incisions. This makes it possible to perform the operation much faster and reduce trauma.
To master the technology, the hospital's doctors took part in master classes with doctors from Israel and Germany.
According to the hospital, the operation was successful. After the procedure, the child was conscious and showed no neurological deficits.
Meanwhile, robotic surgery is developing in Kazakhstan. Kursiv Health previously reported that a lung tumor had recently been removed in Almaty for the first time using a robot.