Key Procedures at Neuro Foundation
Brain surgery
Brain surgery is a critical and complicated process. The type of brain surgery done depends highly on the condition being treated. For example, a brain aneurysm can be repaired using a catheter that’s introduced into an artery in the groin. If the aneurysm has ruptured, an open surgery called craniotomy may be used.
Brain Tumor Surgery
Surgery to open the skull is called a craniotomy. The surgeon makes an incision in your scalp and uses a special type of saw to remove a piece of bone from the skull. You may be awake when the surgeon removes part or all of the brain tumor. The surgeon removes as much tumor as possible.
Conventional Craniotomy
There are 6 main steps during a craniotomy. Depending on the underlying problem being treated and complexity, the procedure can take 3 to 5 hours or longer. No food or drink is permitted past midnight the night before surgery. Patients are admitted to the hospital the morning of the craniotomy.
Pituitary Tumors Surgery
This is the most common way to remove pituitary tumors. Transsphenoidal means that the surgery is done through the sphenoid sinus, a hollow space in the skull behind the nasal passages and below the brain.
Endoscopic Endonasal Approach
The Endoscopic Endonasal Approach (EEA) is an innovative surgical technique used to remove brain tumors and lesions—some as large as softballs—all through the nose.
With EEA, surgeons reach tumors and lesions of the skull base and top of the spine directly by operating through the nose and sinuses. A specially designed endoscope provides light and a lens for viewing and transmitting internal images. Highly crafted instruments are used alongside the endoscope for dissection and tumor removal.
Minimally Invasive Keyhole Brain Surgeries
Keyhole surgery is the concept of safely removing brain & skull base tumors through smaller, more precise openings that minimize collateral damage to surrounding scalp, brain, blood vessels & nerves.
The ideal surgical approach for each patient is determined by the specific tumor type and location. Regardless of the route chosen, our goals are to maximize tumor removal and minimize manipulation of critical structures, thereby avoiding complications and patient disfigurement, while promoting a more rapid, complete and less painful recovery.
Gliomas of all Grades
The main types of Gliomas are:
- Ependymomas : ependymal cells.
- Astrocytomas : astrocytes (glioblastoma multiforme is a malignant astrocytoma and the most common primary brain tumor among adults).
- Oligodendrogliomas : oligodendrocytes.
- Brainstem glioma : develop in the brain stem.
Meningioma
A meningioma is a tumor that forms on membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord just inside the skull. Specifically, the tumor forms on the three layers of membranes that are called meninges. These tumors are often slow-growing. As many as 90% are benign (not cancerous). Most meningiomas occur in the brain.
Intraventricular tumors
Intraventricular tumors (also known as ventricular tumors) are generally benign tumors or lesions found within the ventricles of the brain. These tumors may arise from a variety of cells in the region and often obstruct the flow of cerebrospinal fluid and cause a buildup of pressure in the skull.
Myelomeningocele
- It occurs when a developing baby’s spinal cord fails to develop or close properly while in the womb.
- Symptoms can sometimes be seen on the skin above the spinal defect. They include an abnormal tuft of hair, a birthmark or protruding spinal cord tissue.
- When treatment is necessary, it’s carried out through surgery to close the defect. Other treatments focus on managing complications.
- The extra fluid puts pressure on the brain and can cause brain damage. It’s most common in infants and older adults.
Hydrocephalus
Hydrocephalus is characterised by head enlargement in infants. Adults and older children experience headache, impaired vision, cognitive difficulties, loss of coordination and incontinence.
Treatment is often a tube (shunt) inserted surgically into a ventricle to drain excess fluid.
Tethered Cord
Tethered Cord (TC) is a disorder in which the spinal cord is “stuck” to a structure within the spine such as dura, scar tissue from a previous operation, a bony spicule or even a tumor.
Spinal Lipomas
Lipomas. A spinal cord lipoma is fat within the normally positioned spinal cord without any skin or bony abnormalities. Most commonly these rare lesions are located within the thoracic spinal cord. They may be symptomatic and appear most often.