Teen’s desperate plea for lifesaving brain surgery no surgeon will perform in Australia except Charlie Teo – who’s offered to operate for free – but no one will let him: ‘Professional jealousy’

A West Australian teenager urgently needs brain surgery but cannot find a surgeon willing to operate in Australia, her family says, while Dr Charlie Teo has offered to do it for free if a fellow neurosurgeon backs him.

Braydee Audrain, 19, suffers seizures, debilitating migraines and visual disturbances linked to a brain tumour. She may have to travel to China for the high-risk operation if Dr Teo cannot perform it in Perth due to his ban on operating in Australia.

Her mother, Anita, said the family had exhausted every avenue to secure surgery locally and had been warned that each seizure could cause further damage to Braydee’s brain.

Braydee has a low-grade glioma deep in the left mesial temporal lobe, a part of the brain involved in memory, emotion and learning. Dr Teo warned that her condition could be fatal if left untreated. 

‘You can die from seizures. You can certainly die from a brain tumour turning malignant so on two counts, it could be a fatal condition if left alone,’ he said.

Dr Teo needs a written recommendation from an independent neurosurgeon and access to an operating theatre before he can operate in Perth but no neurosurgeon in Australia has been willing to provide that support.

As a result, he has been forced to perform surgeries in China, where desperate patients must travel overseas and endure long flights to access treatment.

Mrs Audrain has launched a GoFundMe campaign seeking $150,000 to take Braydee to China for Dr Teo to perform the surgery, if it cannot be arranged in Australia.

‘Our daughter is only 19. She has her whole life ahead of her. She wants to dance, perform, sing and chase the dreams she has worked towards since she was three years old,’ Mrs Audrain told the Daily Mail.

‘We desperately want to give her the opportunity to get back to living her life without the constant fear of what this tumour might do next.

‘We have spent months fundraising, reaching out and exploring every possible avenue to get Braydee the treatment she needs.

‘To think that the surgery could potentially happen here in WA, without the enormous overseas costs, is something we cannot walk away from.’

Mrs Audrain said her daughter lived with seizures, debilitating migraines and frightening visual disturbances.  

‘At times, her vision looks like the static on an old television, making even simple tasks unpredictable and exhausting. Each seizure is frightening.

‘We’ve been advised that this operation may be possible in China [with Dr Teo], and we’re pursuing it because it offers Braydee the best chance to protect her health and preserve the future she has worked so hard for.

‘Braydee has trained in musical theatre since she was three years old, dedicating thousands of hours to singing, dancing, and acting. Her determination has earned her leading roles, choreography awards, and the honour of representing Australia in musical theatre.

‘Watching her lose something she loves so deeply has been heartbreaking for our family.’

Mrs Audrain said she was aware that the surgery carries significant risks – but that leaving the tumour was also dangerous.  

‘The tumour sits close to critical blood vessels and delicate brain structures, so there is a possibility of complications such as stroke, paralysis, memory loss, speech difficulties, or other neurological impacts,’ she said.

‘At the same time, leaving the tumour untreated also carries serious risks, including ongoing seizures, worsening neurological symptoms, potential tumour growth, and the possibility it could become more aggressive over time.’

Braydee said she and her mother had spoken about the possibility that she might not survive surgery overseas.

‘We’ve had a few chats about it. We made some jokes about planning some stuff in case it does happen,’ she said.

‘Leaving all of my family here and mum having to come home potentially alone, that’s a big thing.’

Dr Teo said the operation could leave Braydee with permanent disabilities or even kill her, but he believed the potential benefits outweighed the risks.

‘Braydee’s neurosurgeons in Perth are just as talented, or as good, as neurosurgeons anywhere in the world. They could easily operate on Braydee’s tumour,’ he told the Daily Mail.

‘But for some reason they’ve said that it’s inoperable and should not be taken out.

‘(I told Braydee) “you don’t have to pay for the surgery and go private, so you don’t have to go overseas. I’m happy to do the operation in your hometown at no cost. I won’t charge you a cent”.

‘It is a risky operation. You run the risk of having a field defect in your vision, which means you can’t drive. You have the risk of your speech being impaired, so possibly as bad as mutism. You have the risk of death. You have the risk of paralysis.

‘But in my hands, I think the benefit is worth the risk.’

Dr Teo remains subject to operating restrictions imposed in 2023 after he was found guilty of unsatisfactory professional conduct over two brain operations that left his patients unconscious.

Both patients ultimately died, including one within 10 days.

The restrictions require a formal written recommendation from an independent neurosurgeon with at least 15 years’ experience before Dr Teo can operate on recurrent malignant brain tumours and brainstem gliomas in Australia.

Dr Teo said he had made similar offers to other patients.

‘I’ve made that offer and every week I make that same offer, and not once has a neurosurgeon taken me up on the offer,’ he said.

He said Australia’s healthcare system was often geared towards avoiding risk and claimed the fallout from his disciplinary proceedings had made surgeons less willing to offer opinions that differed from those of their colleagues.

‘I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve had some bad outcomes. I’ve hurt people. I’ve paralysed people. I’ve even killed people,’ he said.

‘But my expert opinion, based on 40 years of experience and thousands of cases, is that the benefits of this surgery outweigh the risks.’

Dr Teo claimed fellow neurosurgeons were preventing him from operating in Australia, even when he offered to waive his fee.

‘It’s not a governing problem. It’s not a registration problem. It’s not an administrative problem. It’s purely my colleagues circling the wagons and keeping me out,’ he said.

‘It’s purely professional jealousy and nothing else.’