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Craniotomy - series - Procedure

Procedure:

The hair on part of the scalp is shaved. An incision is made through the scalp and a hole is drilled through the skull. A piece of the skull may be removed while the brain is being operated on and replaced before the skin is stitched closed. The surgery in which the brain is accessed through the skull is called "craniotomy".

Reviewed last on: 6/8/2008
Harvey Simon, MD, Editor-in-Chief, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital.

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