Bit of a bore

Surgeon uses DIY drill to remove brain tumour

By Stephen Adams

Last Updated: 9:35am GMT 17/03/2008

A leading brain surgeon used a £30 DIY drill to carry out a successful operation on a fully conscious patient.
Henry Marsh used a Bosch PSR960 cordless drill because he did not have his normal equipment on him.
The do-it-yourself 9.6 volt drill cost one thousand times less the price of his preferred tool – a £30,000 compressed air medical drill.
But Mr Marsh had to use the Bosch because he was on a trip to Ukraine in Eastern Europe to help people let down by a vastly inadequate health system.
Halfway through the operation to remove the tumour from Marian Dolishny’s head, the power ran out.
His patient was only given local anaesthetic because he could not find a fully trained anaesthetist.
However, he said this gave him the reassuring benefit of being able to talk to his patient, to ensure that he was not inflicting brain damage.

Daily Telegraph