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Brain surgery - Risks

Alternative Names

Craniotomy; Surgery - brain; Neurosurgery; Craniectomy; Stereotactic craniotomy; Stereotactic brain biopsy; Endoscopic craniotomy

Risks:

Risks for any anesthesia are:

  • Reactions to medications
  • Problems breathing

Possible risks of brain surgery are:

  • Surgery on any one area may cause 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
  • Seizures
  • Stroke
  • Coma
  • Infection in the brain, in the wound, or in the skull
  • Brain swelling
  • Reviewed last on: 2/9/2011
  • Luc Jasmin, MD, PhD, Department of Neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, and Department of Anatomy at UCSF, San Francisco, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Ortiz-Cardona J, Bendo AA. Perioperative pain management in the neurosurgical patient. Anesthesiol Clin. 2007 Sep 01;25(3):655-74, xi

Patterson JT, Hanbali F, Franklin RL, Nauta HJW. Neurosurgey. In: Townsend CM, Beauchamp RD, Evers BM, Mattox KL, eds. Sabiston Textbook of Surgery. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 72.

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