An Emirati woman kept awake for four hours during brain surgery is recovering well and as a result of the procedure has stopped suffering epileptic seizures.
School bus supervisor Salha Al Dhaheri had a slow-growing tumour on her brain that was limiting her function, causing dizziness and regular seizures.
Surgeons at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi took the unusual step of an awake neurosurgery to remove the tumour close to critical areas of the brain that controlled speech and other skills.
You can only test language and higher cognitive functions when your patient is awake
Ms Al Dhaheri, 31, was able to count backwards from 100, read sentences in Arabic and name objects to doctors, as surgeons operated on her exposed brain.
“It was a very surreal experience to see the doctors operate while also being awake and answering questions,” said Ms Al Daheri, who did not suffer during the surgery because brain tissue does not feel any pain.
“Now my issues of dizziness and seizures have stopped, and I can’t thank the doctors enough for this miracle.
“I am still undergoing rehabilitation, but my quality of life has improved drastically.
“I am looking forward to resuming my duties as a supervisor.”
Surgeons required Ms Al Daheri to remain conscious throughout the surgery so they could be sure the correct area of the brain was being treated.
The procedure lowered the risk of damage to functional areas of the brain that affect vision, speech and movement.
Neurosurgeons used high-definition 3D-rendered imaging sequences imported into a navigation device to map a safe pathway into the brain to locate the tumour, and prevent the likelihood of damaging healthy tissue.
A 3D printed model of her brain and the tumour was used to help doctors plan the surgery.
Because the tumour was located very close to the language and motor cortex of the brain, the patient’s responses allowed surgeons to locate and remove the growth more precisely.
Ms Al Dhaheri was unconscious as doctors approached the brain but then was fully awake while the neurosurgeon removed the tumour.
Questions were asked in Arabic, because replies in English would have triggered a different brain response.
A sheet of electrodes was applied directly on the brain to pick up epileptic activity, because a seizure during the procedure could have been catastrophic for the patient.
Although the surgery was the first of its kind completed in the UAE, three others have been performed since and two more are planned – all at the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s neurological institute.
“Salha’s tumour was in one the most eloquent areas of her brain,” said Dr Florian Roser, the institute’s chairman.
“The same tumour removal on the right side would have been done in a sleeping state because there would be no risk of language loss, and therefore you do not need the patient to be awake.
“But you can only test language and higher cognitive functions when your patient is awake.
“When I saw Salha, I knew she would be an ideal candidate for awake surgery.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
'Midnights'
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
If you go
Flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh with a stop in Yangon from Dh3,075, and Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Phnom Penh with its partner Bangkok Airlines from Dh2,763. These trips take about nine hours each and both include taxes. From there, a road transfer takes at least four hours; airlines including KC Airlines (www.kcairlines.com) offer quick connecting flights from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville from about $100 (Dh367) return including taxes. Air Asia, Malindo Air and Malaysian Airlines fly direct from Kuala Lumpur to Sihanoukville from $54 each way. Next year, direct flights are due to launch between Bangkok and Sihanoukville, which will cut the journey time by a third.
The stay
Rooms at Alila Villas Koh Russey (www.alilahotels.com/ kohrussey) cost from $385 per night including taxes.
Honeymoonish
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
Players Selected for La Liga Trials
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Name: Mohammed Rajeh (Cadiz)
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U16 Age Group
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LEAGUE CUP QUARTER-FINAL DRAW
Stoke City v Tottenham
Brentford v Newcastle United
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Everton v Manchester United
All ties are to be played the week commencing December 21.
Avatar%20(2009)
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
AUSTRALIA SQUAD
Aaron Finch (captain), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, David Warner, Adam Zampa
