article_snippet: Surgeons often describe the tricky operation to remove a brain tumour as ‘trying to pluck a spider out of jelly’.
article_snippet: Take out too little and the cancerous ‘legs’ remain and regrow – but take out too much and there is a risk of cutting away healthy tissue and leaving the patient disabled.
article_snippet: ‘Brain surgery is a very complex operation – sometimes even taking just a millimetre too much can cause real damage, such as paralysis or problems with speech.
article_snippet: One of the major obstacles at present is that the boundary between the tumour and healthy brain tissue is very hard to distinguish, even with an operating microscope.
article_snippet: Currently, surgeons must rely on taking several tiny cuttings of tissue to ensure surgeons are only taking away that which is cancerous.