Cleveland Clinic clinicians recently performed a brain surgery through a patient's eyelid, the health system said Sept. 11.
In this case, a Florida woman experienced neck pain and migraine headaches she described as "excruciating." Cleveland Clinic neurosurgeon Mauricio Mandel, MD, discovered an aneurysm that required brain surgery.
The traditional route is an incision along the hairline, but the patient — Barbara O'Hara of Stuart, Fla. — qualified for an operation called transorbital surgery. The surgery is a minimally invasive approach that features a tiny incision above the eye.
A small number of U.S. medical centers offer transorbital surgery, according to Cleveland Clinic. Most patients are discharged the day after their operation.