Some people recover well after brain surgery, but this can take some time. Other people have some problems, or long term difficulties. The problems you may have depends on the area of the brain where the tumour was (or still is if you only had part of the tumour removed).
After a brain injury, you might suffer from social anxiety, irritability, anger, depression, feelings of overwhelm, general anxiety, mood swings, or emotional lability (teariness). But make no mistake: While these symptoms can make it seem like you're a different person now, your personality is intact.
Your Recovery
You will probably feel very tired for several weeks after surgery. You may also have headaches or problems concentrating. It can take a month or two to recover from surgery. Your cuts (incisions) may be sore after surgery.
In total, it typically takes about 4-8 weeks to make a full recovery from a brain surgery. The initial incisions on your head may be sore for about a week afterwards. You may have some mild headaches for a period of about 4-8 weeks as well.
Possible risks of brain surgery are: Problems with speech, memory, muscle weakness, balance, vision, coordination, and other functions. These problems may last a short while or they may not go away. Blood clot or bleeding in the brain.
While rare, a craniotomy can affect your ability to think, move, speak and function normally. Some long-term side effects could include: Difficulty walking. Problems with balance and coordination.
Some of the possible complications following craniotomy include allergic reaction to the anaesthetic, bleeding, infection, brain damage, brain swelling, stroke and seizures.
Neurosurgery can cause some temporary swelling around the brain, so it's normal to experience memory loss after brain tumour removal or biopsy. You may also experience difficulties with your memory after brain surgery if surgeons had to remove brain cells that were responsible for your memory.
Exercise
Regular, non-strenuous exercise is one of the best activities you can do to improve short-term memory after brain injury. According to several studies, aerobic exercise actually stimulates the growth of new brain cells and improves memory and cognition.
It can be weeks or months before your survivor is able to routinely store new memories. In general, post-traumatic amnesia lasts three to four times longer than the preceding coma.
Everyone recovers differently after brain surgery. It can take weeks to recover from less invasive brain surgeries. Or it may take months for you to heal from a major procedure like a craniotomy. Talk to your healthcare provider about when it's safe to return to work and normal activities.
The surgical removal by and large is the most effective treatment of brain tumor. With early treatment, more than 85% of patients survive for 5 years. The chances of survival are dropped to 40 % in case of late-stage cancers, when the tumor is large and cannot be removed surgically.
Disinhibition. A common change early in recovery is disinhibition, that is, loss of control over behaviour, resulting in socially inappropriate behaviour. This ranges from a tendency to divulge personal information too freely, to disturbing and unpredictable outbursts of uncontrolled rage.
Brain tumors and resection surgery cause physical changes to brain tissue and can lead to diffuse cognitive deficits, including problems with attention, memory, executive functioning, and information processing. Attention and information processing speed can sometimes be affected by a brain tumor and/or its treatment.
Unfortunately, the results are often conflicting, with some studies showing an increased risk of dementia and/or cognitive impairment (a decline in memory and thinking skills) following surgery, and others suggesting no increase risk.
After a craniotomy, the bone flap will mend itself over time and partially heal back into the rest of the skull bone within 2 to 3 months. Full recovery can take a few months and depends on the underlying condition that was treated.
Most patients' brain function return to baseline (before surgery) within a few months following hospital discharge. In a subset of patients, these cognitive changes can last several months and even years.
Depression is common among brain injury survivors, with half of all survivors experiencing it in the first year following their injury.
The problem
There is increasing evidence that people who have undergone brain surgery experience significant pain. This pain can have serious consequences including raised blood pressure, agitation, prolonged recovery time and an increased risk of long-term headaches.
On average, brain surgery long-term survival rate can be between 50-70% except in cases of malignant tumors where chances are lowered. In cases of brain operation performed for non-tumor related brain damage, the chances of survival are significantly enhanced.
Our average length of stay following craniotomy is 2.2 days. Most patients are able to go directly home following surgery (96% for elective surgery) and 4% have to go to a rehab hospital.
Some people recover well after brain surgery, but this can take some time. Other people have some problems, or long term difficulties. The problems you may have depends on the area of the brain where the tumour was (or still is if you only had part of the tumour removed).
These include hemorrhage, tension pneumocephalus, wound/soft tissue infection, bone flap infection and extradural abscesses. Complications specifically related to craniectomies include extracranial herniation, external brain tamponade, paradoxical herniation, and trephine syndrome.