In China, an operation that involved three surgeons, six anesthesiologists, and eight nurses ended after a long 32 hours. The operation was made up of six separate surgeries to remove a series of brain tumors from one patient. The operation started in Saturday morning at 8:30 am, and ended 4:00 pm Sunday afternoon. Photos of exhausted surgeons collapsing on the floor have since gone viral.
According to a Chinese newspaper, the operation was the longest that has ever been undertaken in China. The 32-hour long surgery was conducted at the Fujian Medical University Union Hospital. The entire team was up to the task, but no one thought that the operation would last this long. During the operation, the doctors took turns taking short breaks. At some point, even the patient’s family had worried whether the medical team had the strength and endurance of performing such a complicated procedure for such a long period of time.
“The patient had both an aneurysm and brain-stem hemangioblastoma. We needed to remove both tumors in one surgery.” said Dr Chen Jianping, one of the surgeons of the operation, “This required six different surgical procedures to be conducted on the patient. It can be difficult, risky, and time-consuming. If you are removing one tumor, and the other one breaks, it can be fatal.” But despite the hardships, the entire operation was called a success. In one of the pictures, one surgeon can be seen making the V gesture with his fingers, declaring the victory and success of the surgery.