Traditional Brain Surgery

In addition to minimally invasive surgical approaches, our team is trained and experienced in all traditional approaches to the brain, so they fully understand all of the options available to them. This expertise allows our neurosurgeons to develop the best treatment plan for each patient, utilizing the technique or combination of techniques that offer the best opportunity for returning the patient to normal life. Although, some lesions can be treated by a Minimally Invasive Brain Surgery (MIBS) approach, individual characteristics of the problem relative to each patient’s anatomy may make an open approach safer or more successful.  By having a team experienced in both approaches to the brain, patients are provided all the options to make an educated decision on how to manage their neurological disease or disorder.

In traditional brain surgery, the surgeon creates a hole in the skull and removes a piece, called a bone flap. If possible, the surgeon will make a smaller hole and insert a tube with a light and camera on the end. This is called an endoscope. The surgery will be done with tools placed through the endoscope. MRI or CT can help guide the doctor to the proper place in the brain. During surgery, the surgeon may clip off a brain aneurysm to prevent blood flow, remove a tumor or a piece of tumor for a biopsy, remove abnormal brain tissue or drain blood. The bone flap is usually replaced after surgery, using small metal plates, sutures, or wires. The bone flap may not be put back if your surgery involved a tumor or an infection, or if the brain was swollen. (This is called a craniectomy.) The time it takes for the surgery depends on the problem being treated.

To learn more about traditional brain surgery and if it might be right for you, call (407) 303-7944 or contact us.