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Tilly Phillips, who underwent the operation at age 15, said having an arteriovenous malformation felt like a “ticking time bomb”
NEED TO KNOW
- Matilda “Tilly” Phillips was 15 years old when she underwent a 12-hour brain operation to treat an arteriovenous malformation (AVM), which is a rare blood vessel condition
- She was awake for 30 minutes during the surgery and is thought to be the world’s youngest known patient to have undergone this type of procedure
- Tilly said she was “grateful” to everyone who looked after her, sharing that she now feels like she’s got her “life back,” per a press release obtained by PEOPLE
A teenage girl has become the world’s youngest known patient to have conscious brain surgery to treat a rare blood vessel condition.
Matilda Phillips, known as “Tilly,” was 15 years old when she underwent a 12-hour brain procedure in December 2025 to resolve an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool, England, according to a press release obtained by PEOPLE.
An AVM is “an abnormal tangle of blood vessels that looks like a bird’s nest,” per the Cleveland Clinic. “The tangle is made of arteries that would normally provide blood to your brain and veins that would normally drain blood from brain tissue,” the website states.
The condition is rare, with the clinic stating that it is present in one in 100,000 people.
Tilly, now 16, said that before undergoing the operation, she had frequent seizures and added that the AVM had felt like a “ticking time bomb” in her brain.
She said in the release, “I just wanted it out. The AVM was causing me to have frequent seizures and they were getting worse and I knew it could rupture at any point, which was really scary. I felt like my life was on hold.”
Tilly, from the U.K. town of Warrington, spent around 30 minutes awake during the procedure. Surgeons monitored her speech and responses while removing the malformation.
Dr Cathy Grant, a consultant clinical psychologist, said Tilly was able to stay calm and complete picture-naming tasks.
Neurosurgeon, Mr. Vejay N. Vakharia, said that the operation is not always offered to young patients as it “requires a lot of cooperation,” per the release.
“While awake procedures have been performed on young patients for other neurological conditions like brain [tumors], Tilly is among the youngest known individuals to undergo the surgery specifically for an AVM which is extremely rare,” he added.
Tilly told the BBC that her memory was “awful” after the operation, explaining that she had struggled to remember her friends’ names and the names of animals.
The Alder Hey Children’s Foundation Trust said in the release that the operation had “successfully treated” the AVM and that Tilly had continued to make a “strong recovery.”
She was first diagnosed with an AVM after undergoing an MRI scan following her experience with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures.
The hospital trust said that if an AVM ruptures, “They can cause [a] stroke, brain damage and can be fatal,” per the release.
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Symptoms of an AVM can include seizures, headaches, muscle weakness or complete paralysis, vomiting and nausea, abdominal pain, dizziness, numbness, back pain, as well as pain and swelling, per the Cleveland Clinic.
Tilly’s AVM was located close to areas of the brain responsible for functions such as speech, movement and vision, which made treatment particularly high-risk.
However, the decision to undergo the procedure has paid off, as she finally feels as though she has her “life back.”
“I’ve got my life back. Before the surgery, it felt like I was always worrying about what might happen,” Tilly said in the release. “I’ve just finished my GCSEs [high school exams] and I can look forward to spending time with my friends, family, my dogs, enjoying the summer holidays, and just getting on with being a normal teenager again. I’m so grateful to everyone who looked after me.”
Her mother, Clare, described it as an “incredibly difficult period” for the family and praised Tilly, adding: “She has navigated things no child should have to but has shown such strength and resilience.”
Read the original article on People
