Groundbreaking surgery brings music back into a talented teenager's life

Groundbreaking surgical procedures and a state-of-the-art neuro microscope have enabled a surgical team at Winnipeg's Children's Hospital to bring music back into a talented teenager's life.

Lillian Moore, 16, from Kenora, Ont., knew something was wrong a couple of years ago when she started having seizures. But she admits she and the rest of her family, including her father — who is a doctor — were in denial.

The young pianist says she would get an aura before the seizure. 

"I would know a minute before it would happen. That's why I was able to run between classes and go and sit on the bathroom floor and have my seizures alone, because I knew it was coming on," Moore said.

However, she couldn't hide what she was suffering alone for long. The seizures became more frequent and more serious. It was on a holiday when family witnessed a seizure and called 911. That led to appointments with specialists, medication, and wondering whether she would ever have a normal life.

"I knew in my heart I wanted surgery [so] this wouldn't happen to me again," Moore said.

Last year, she was connected with a team at Children's Hospital under pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Demitre Serletis.

I am back to regular and that is so special.- Lillian Moore, 16

The timing, Moore says, couldn't have been more perfect.

The Children's Hospital Foundation of Manitoba had recently purchased a Zeiss Kinevo 900 neuro microscope — making the Children's Hospital the first pediatric health care facility in Canada to have one, and only the second in North America, the hospital says.

Serletis calls the $1-million instrument a "game changer" and the "Ferrari of microscopes." 

If you could compare it to upgrading your cellphone, he says, the Kinevo would be considered not just the next generation but a 10-fold leap in technology.

"The optics are so much sharper," Serletis said.

"We can visualize in three dimension. We can operate with 3D glasses off a large TV screen on the wall so the visualization is so much more improved. It is fully automated and robotic, so everything is essentially on autopilot, driven by a mouthpiece or foot pedal," he said.

"And so your hands remain in the surgical field, never coming out, and that makes things safer and faster and more effective." 

Vascular lesion bled over the years

The microscope allows surgeons to see brain tumours using fluorescent dyes under yellow or blue light. The tumour glows against the backdrop of normal brain tissue, something that was not possible before.

Moore was diagnosed with a vascular lesion. It bled over the years, irritating the brain and surrounding networks, sparking her seizures. Moore's case was particularly complex, Serletis says, because the lesion sat within the networks that serve her piano-playing abilities. 

"So when we did the imaging testing beforehand, we actually had her play the keyboard in the MRI scanner so we could map out the musical-related networks there," Serletis said.

"Then, using that combined with at the time of surgery putting electrodes on the brain, we recorded the seizure events as they were sparking. We were able to remove [the lesion] safely with the Kinevo microscope." 

Serletis expected Moore to be seizure-free and almost a year later, that has been the case.

"She is in her first year of remission," Serletis said.

"I would aim for five years to call her seizure-free. But this is the longest interval she has gone without seizures at this time," he said.

"We are hopeful."

Confidence in surgical team 

Moore says she wasn't afraid to have the surgery. She felt safe and totally trusted Serletis and the team working with him.

At a news conference on Thursday, she welcomed guests by playing the piano.

"I am back to regular and that is so special," she said, tears welling up in her eyes.

She's back to cheerleading and playing the piano.

"I live every day like it is normal again. I really want to thank Dr. Serletis. I can't thank him enough."

The  Kinevo neuro microscope has been in use for about a year and continues to be instrumental in life-saving surgical care. Fifty children and a handful of adults have been operated on using the new high-tech equipment.  

Supporters include the Provinciano family, ReMax and Dairy Queen Canada. The Children's Hospital Foundation still needs to raise $200,000 to pay the balance of the cost of the microscope.