Surgeons pioneer brain surgery through the eye socket

Surgeons in Washington and California have pioneered a new technique for brain surgery, performed through the eye socket.

Transorbital neuroendoscopic surgery (TONES) eliminates the need to remove the top of the skull to access the brain.

Instead, surgeons make a small incision behind or through the eyelid and a tiny hole is then made through the bone of the eye socket to reach the brain.

Dr Kris Moe, surgeon and professor of Otalaryngology at University of Washington Medical Center, spoke mid-operation to the BBC's Fergus Nicoll.

First broadcast 1 October 2010