Neurosurgeons in Texas performed brain surgery on a woman while she was awake and speaking - and streamed the procedure on Facebook Live.

Tens of thousands watched as 25-year-old Jenna Schardt underwent the operation at Methodist Dallas Medical Centre, where part of her skull was removed.

Ms Schardt, a graduate in occupational therapy, said she agreed to let the hospital livestream the operation on its Facebook page to "educate and inspire" others.

In a statement released by the hospital before the surgery, Ms Schardt said: "They are going to show me pictures and I will be describing the pictures while they map out my brain.

"I will be a very active participant in my own brain surgery!"


Doctors said Ms Schardt was kept awake for the procedure so they could test her brain to help avoid damaging key neurological functions.

She had recently been experiencing speech problems and seizures, and doctors found a mass of blood vessels in the part of her brain that affects speech.

Ms Schardt underwent surgery on Tuesday to remove the vessels and was put under general anaesthetic while doctors opened up her skull.

She was then woken up for the actual procedure and chatted with the surgeons, which helped them locate what parts of the brain to target.

"Jenna's lesion is around some very critical areas in her brain," neurosurgeon Randall Graham told ABC News.

"What's nice is, nowadays, we can have people awake during the surgery to test on the surface of the brain to make sure we don't do anything to affect her speech or motor skills."

Image: Jenna Schardt is now recovering in hospital

The livestreamed part of the surgery was around 50 minutes long and had more than 45,000 views and 1,000 comments by the time it ended.

It was narrated by a hospital spokesman alongside its chief of neurosurgery, Dr Nimesh Patel, though the hospital said it did not show the bloody details of the surgery because it thought Facebook would not allow it.

The surgery was a success and Ms Schardt will remain in hospital for a few more days to recover.

Many Facebook users praised the doctors' ability to operate on Ms Schardt while she was awake.

One user said: "Thank you for allowing us all to witness this surgery. It was definitely something special."

Another commented: "Although many were upset they couldn't hear Jenna... I would like to thank the commentators were did a wonderful job explaining the procedures and sharing information!"