By ninemsn staff
A British brain surgeon has used a backyard drill to successfully remove a brain tumour from a fully conscious patient.
Henry Marsh used the $65 Bosch cordless drill during a visit to Ukraine — a far cry from the $65,000 compressed air medical drill he would normally use, the UK broadsheet Daily Telegraph reports.
His patient was only given a local anaesthetic because he could not find a fully trained anaesthetist.
Mr Marsh said this was beneficial because he could talk to his patient to ensure he was not causing brain damage.
He attached normal surgical bits to the end of the 9.6 volt drill but admitted the procedure wouldn't have been comfortable.
He said Ukrainians could handle it because they were "tough".
"I'm not recommending that we should all use Bosch do-it-yourself drills in England, but it shows how with improvisation you can achieve a lot," he said.
His patient faced death if the tumour wasn't removed.
The procedure was captured on film by the BBC for a program called The English Surgeon which will air March 30.
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