SINGAPORE, May 24 — A multidisciplinary team from the National Neuroscience Institute (NNI) and Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) has successfully removed a 2.5cm brain tumour through a patient’s eye socket, marking the first time the technique has been used in Singapore for tumour removal.
According to The Straits Times, the eight-hour operation, performed in November 2025, used a minimally invasive method known as transorbital neuroendoscopic surgery (TONES). The patient, 38-year-old Teong Wen Han, was discharged just three days later with no neurological or eye complications.
Teong, a learning and development manager, had no known medical issues until Oct 9, when he suffered a seizure while driving on the CTE, crashing into four vehicles and a lamp post. A CT scan at the hospital revealed the tumour growing behind his right eye.
He said his only symptom had been mild morning headaches, which he had attributed to caffeine withdrawal.
The tumour’s position — at the skull base and close to the optic nerve and key blood vessels — made traditional open-skull surgery riskier. Instead of removing part of the skull, surgeons accessed the tumour through a 2cm incision in the upper eyelid crease, leaving minimal visible scarring.
The team included neurosurgeons Dr Jensen Ang and Assoc Prof Ang Beng Ti, ophthalmologist Dr David Law, and ENT surgeon Dr Tan Jian Li.
Dr Law created the access corridor by removing part of the eye socket bone while protecting the optic nerve.
Dr Tan operated the endoscope, navigating the “deep and narrow” surgical corridor.
The neurosurgeons removed the tumour by peeling it away from surrounding structures.
The team rehearsed the procedure using a 3D-printed model of the patient’s skull to map out angles and risks.
Traditional skull-base surgery can leave lasting facial asymmetry due to muscle disruption. TONES avoids these complications and offers a shorter recovery time — a key reason Teong chose it, joking that “vanity” played a part.
He has since been weaned off anti-seizure medication but cannot drive for a year under medical guidelines.