Brain tumor surgery

A brain tumor is the formation of masses when abnormal cells grow and combine during cell renewal in the brain. Primary (initial) brain tumors can be divided into two types: benign and malignant. Secondary (metastatic) brain tumors are also known as metastases. These are cancers that spread from other organs in the body to the brain. Benign brain tumors do not contain cancerous cells and have a low risk of recurrence when removed surgically. Malignant tumors carry a risk of spreading. Treatment of formations occurring in the brain is possible through Brain tumor surgery.

Brain tumor surgery can be described as the process of clearing the tumor. The aim of this operation is to completely remove the tumor.

Tumors can arise from causes such as genetics, radiation, and chemical exposure. Through surgery, it is possible to improve the patient's quality of life. In brain tumor surgeries, doctors generally aim to completely remove the tumor from the brain. Treatments progress as a process specific to each patient.

Depending on the location, shape, and size of the tumor, surgery aims to extend the patient's lifespan. Before surgery, the location of the tumor must be clearly determined and an appropriate plan must be made accordingly. It is important that the patient be informed about the operation and be aware of their risk factors and what they need to do afterward.

Following the planning, these surgeries last between 5 to 15 hours and are performed by brain surgeons who are experts in the field.

Before the surgery process, once the patient's condition is determined and the necessary results are obtained to determine the appropriate amount of anesthesia, only the application of anesthesia for surgery remains. The procedure is painless while the patient is asleep. However, there are also awake brain surgeries where the patient's consciousness remains open.

The most commonly used method in brain tumor surgery is craniotomy. In this method, the patient's skull is cut and opened, and an access channel to the brain is created. Here, there are different types including open and closed brain surgeries. In closed brain surgeries, access to the brain is provided from areas such as the nose.

The next step is identifying the tumor. At this point, its location and size can be identified through medical devices and tests such as MRI. Following this, the tumor needs to be removed; the primary goal is to remove it entirely for the brain's relief.

However, in some cases, it may not be possible to remove it completely. As the final step, the opened skull is replaced and sutured. These sutures can be removed after surgery, or there are surgeries where the sutures are not removed.

Benign tumors develop as brain cells multiply slowly and uncontrollably. Unlike malignant (cancerous) tumors, these masses do not invade neighboring brain tissue. They only push and compress that tissue as they grow. Additionally, they do not spread to other organs through the blood (do not metastasize).

However, the skull is a closed and rigid box. Every extra mass growing inside exerts pressure on the healthy parts of the brain. For this reason, the word "benign" should not mislead you into complacency. Once they reach a certain size, we definitely intervene.

It Is Not Cancer: It does not spread to the body, chemotherapy is usually not required.
It Grows Slowly: It usually develops over years, which gives us time to plan.
Complete Recovery Is Possible: When we completely remove it through surgery, the disease ends.
It May Not Be Genetic: Most cases are random and do not pass to your children.
Symptoms Vary: Not just headaches, even personality changes can be a sign.
Technology Has Reduced Risk: With navigation systems, we protect healthy tissue.
Follow-up Is Important: Even if you don't have surgery, regular MRI monitoring is essential.

1. Observation (Monitoring)
If the tumor is very small and the patient has no complaints, we simply observe it. We perform MRI scans at regular intervals. We prefer this approach especially in elderly patients.

2. Microsurgery (Surgery)
If the tumor is growing or putting pressure on the brain, we need to remove it. In modern brain tumor surgery, we use a microscope. Our goal is to completely remove the tumor while preserving the patient's functions such as speech and vision.

3. Gamma Knife (Radiation Therapy)
We send targeted radiation to tumors smaller than 3 cm or located in hard-to-reach areas. There is no incision; the patient returns home the same day. We stop the tumor from growing.

This duration varies depending on the location and size of the tumor. An average surgery takes between 4 to 8 hours. This duration includes putting the patient to sleep and waking them up. Families find this duration long and become anxious, but for us surgeons, careful work is important, not rushing.