Brain Tumour Surgery

Brain Tumour Surgery is performed by Dr Sudish Karunakaran, Senior Consultant Neurosurgeon and offers consultation for Brain and Spine related disorders at Keyhole Clinic. He has more than 20 Years of Experience in Complex Spine and Brain Disorders and has dealt with life-threatening brain tumours and brain bleeds. He is one of the few surgeons performing Awake Craniotomy for complex brain tumors.

What is a Brain Tumour?

A brain tumour is an abnormal growth of cells in or around the brain.  Based on the location brain tumours can be classified as primary tumours or secondary tumors.  Primary tumours are tumors that develop in the brain tissue.  Secondary tumors are tumors that arise from parts of the body and spread to the brain.  These tumors are also called metastatic tumors. 

Based on whether a tumor is cancerous or not, brain tumours can be classified as malignant tumor or benign tumor.  Benign tumours are non-cancerous tumors, whereas malignant tumors are cancerous tumors.

Brain tumors affect the functioning of the brain as they grow larger and it is important to remove the brain tumor.  They can cause weakness, difficulty walking, partial or complete loss of vision, issues with memory, problems with balance, etc.

Symptoms of Brain Tumor 

Symptoms of brain tumor can include:

Headaches:  Recurrent headaches or very severe headache can be a symptom of brain tumor.  If you are having recurrent headaches, it is advisable to consult the doctor for headache treatment and to diagnose the cause of the headache.

Seizures: A seizure happens when abnormal electrical activity occurs in the brain.  It is important to consult the neurologist or a neurosurgeon if one has temporary loss of consciousness or convulsions. 

Paralysis:  Paralysis means unable to make muscle movements voluntarily.  Paralysis can be partial or complete.  Other symptoms include changes in personality or behavioral changes, confusion, disorientation, difficulty in thinking or speaking and understanding language, balance problems, dizziness, vision issues, hearing loss, nausea, vomiting, facial numbness, etc

Types of Brain Tumors

Different types of brain tumours include Chordomas, Craniopharyngiomas, Gangliocytomas, Meningiomas, Pituitary adenomas, Schwannomas, Astrocytoma, Glioblastoma, Oligodendroglioma, etc.

Brain Tumour Surgery

Navigation Guided Craniotomy – The surgeon cuts a part of the skull and with the help of imaging scans, the tumor is located and removed. 

Awake Craniotomy – The patient is kept awake and alert during the surgery using IV anaesthesia.  This is done to ensure that while performing the brain tumor removal, the part of the brain that affects the language, speech and motor skills are not damaged.

Neuro-endoscopy – This involves the use of an endoscope and is a minimally invasive or keyhole brain surgery.  The Neurosurgeon removes the brain tumor found in the ventricles of the brain. This procedure is also used in order to remove fluid build-up in the brain (hydrocephalus).