Awake
If your tumor or the area of your brain where your seizures occur (epileptic focus) is near the parts of your brain that control vision, movement or speech, you may need to be awake during surgery. Your surgeon may ask you questions and monitor the activity in your brain as you respond.
During an awake craniotomy, a patient is put under deep twilighting rather than general anesthesia while the doctors get started — the patient is not awake for the incision or when surgeons are opening the skull.
A craniotomy is a type of surgery where a piece of the skull is temporarily removed to access the brain. In an awake craniotomy, the patient is woken up during surgery.
This is normal. You might even dream during surgery and only think you experienced awareness.
Pain is usually minimal since there are only a small number of pain nerve endings in the head. Nevertheless, you may experience headaches and other tenderness in the area that was affected.
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.
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.
Currently, most surgeons around the world conduct this surgery while the patient is awake. You read that right: It's considered standard clinical practice to keep a patient awake for the four to six hours it takes to implant electrodes into specific areas of the brain that control movement.
Delayed emergence from general anesthesia (GA) is a relatively common occurrence in the operating room. It is often caused by the effect of drugs administered during the surgery. It can also be caused by other etiologies such as metabolic and electrolyte disturbances.
Awake craniotomy may take 4 to 6 hours, depending on your underlying condition. We discuss below the steps in an awake craniotomy with language mapping.
The surgeon will pull up your scalp and may use skin clips to control bleeding. The surgeon may use a medical drill to make burr holes in the skull. They may use a special saw to carefully cut the bone. The bone flap will be removed and saved.
You are likely to feel drowsy and sleepy after you wake up. This is normal and it happens because of the anaesthetic and painkillers. You, or your relatives, may also notice that your head or face are swollen and bruised. This swelling will go down over time.
A craniotomy is a surgical procedure to cut and temporarily remove a piece of skull bone (bone flap) to access the brain. After brain surgery, this bone flap is reattached to the skull at its original location with small metal plates and screws. Over time, the bone heals just like any other broken bone.
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).
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.
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.
A major surgery and its treatments can cause changes in a personality and ability to think. Patients may experience challenges with their communication, concentration, memory and emotional abilities. Most brain tumor patients exhibit signs that are consistent with depression and agitation, especially post surgery.
Surgery can damage nerves in the brain, which may cause problems such as paralysis or seizures. In extreme cases, nerve damage may lead to death. Doctors take care to avoid damaging any nerves during surgery, and if damage occurs, they will take measures to restore function as best as possible.
The estimated mean time of overall survival after TBI surgery (± SD) was 83.0 ± 4.2 months, and the overall in-hospital and 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates were 74.5%, 67.3%, 61.1%, and 57.8%, respectively.
Your head will be shaved and the skin over the surgical site will be cleansed with an antiseptic solution. There are various types of incisions that may be used, depending on the affected area of the brain.
To ensure that patients are safe immediately after brain surgery, they generally stay in the hospital for observation anywhere from a few days to over a week. During that time, patients often receive steroids to decrease swelling in the brain and anti-seizure medication to prevent seizures.
How Long Does It Take to Recover After Brain 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.