Brain tumor surgery

A brain tumor is a mass of abnormal cells that grow in an uncontrolled manner in the brain. There are 2 main types of brain tumors depending on whether they are cancerous or not: - Benign tumors (non-cancerous). They form quite slowly and most often remain isolated from neighboring brain tissue. - Malignant tumors (cancerous). It is not always easy to distinguish them from neighboring tissues. Because of this, it is sometimes difficult to extract them entirely without damaging the surrounding brain tissue. Craniotomy is surgery in which the skull is opened to remove a brain tumor. The goal of the operation is to remove as much of the tumor as possible without destroying important brain tissue or affecting brain function. Image guided surgery may be used for some brain tumors. MRI or CT images are repeatedly produced during the operation to indicate the location of the tumor and the surgeon's instruments.