About The Brain and Spinal Cord | Neurological Surgery (2024)

FAQs

About The Brain and Spinal Cord | Neurological Surgery? ›

As such, neurological surgery encompasses treatment of adult and pediatric patients with disorders of the nervous system: disorders of the brain, meninges, and skull, and their blood supply, including the extracranial carotid and vertebral arteries; disorders of the pituitary gland, disorders of the spinal cord, and ...

It can also take time to recover after brain surgery, especially if open surgery is being performed. Brain surgery is not always dangerous. All surgical procedures carry some amount of risk, whereas brain surgery carries a higher risk because it is a major medical event.

Neurosurgery is surgery of the nervous system.

The specialty of neurosurgical care includes both adult and pediatric patients. Dependent upon the nature of the injury or disease a neurological surgeon may provide surgical and/or non-surgical care.

The biggest risks with brain surgery include loss of function, such as your ability to speak, walk or think. Rehabilitation after surgery can help you regain these functions. Your care team can answer any questions you may have about the procedure and they'll be available to help you during your recovery.

Craniotomy. A craniotomy is the most common type of operation for a brain tumour. You usually have a craniotomy under a general anaesthetic. This means that you will be asleep and won't feel anything.

The median survival for patients with low-grade tumors may be more than 10 years, and for patients with high-grade tumors, it ranges from 1 to 3 years. For glioblastoma (the most common primary brain tumor in adults), the median progression-free survival is 9 months and the overall survival is 19 months.

How long will I be in the hospital? Usual length of stay for patients who undergo a craniotomy for a brain tumor, with no complications, is two nights, three hospital days. Patients who have postoperative difficulties may be required to stay longer.

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 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.

Some people have improvement of their neurologic symptoms immediately after surgery.” Most patients don't experience a lot of pain, except for discomfort at the incision site, which is managed with oral medications. “You may feel headachy, but it is a low-level pain that tends to get better pretty quickly,” Dr.

What is the hardest surgery to recover from? ›

Conditions that require brain surgery include brain cancer, stroke and hydrocephalus. If left untreated, any condition requiring brain surgery can cause further damage to the brain. A craniotomy is an operation to open the skull in order to access the brain for surgical repair.

Avoid heavy lifting until your doctor says it is okay. Do not drive until your doctor says it is okay. Ask your doctor if it is safe for you to travel by plane. Avoid risky activities, such as climbing a ladder, until your doctor says it is okay.

Risks of the procedure

Brain surgery risk is tied to the specific location in the brain that the operation will affect. For example, if the area of the brain that controls speech is operated on, then speech may be affected. Some more general complications include, but are not limited to, the following: Infection.

The high-risk surgical patient is defined as a patient presenting a risk of mortality or morbidity that is higher than the reference population based on epidemiological data. Perioperative risk stratification is a complex task and depends on interactions between surgical and patient-specific factors.

Some of the possible complications following craniotomy include allergic reaction to the anaesthetic, bleeding, infection, brain damage, brain swelling, stroke and seizures.