Awake Brain Surgery

Overview

Mayo Clinic combines the most advanced medical technology with experienced medical specialists to provide awake brain surgery (brain mapping surgery) as a treatment for patients with certain brain tumors or epileptic seizures. Mayo's capabilities allow surgeons to operate on patients with brain tumors or epileptic seizures previously considered inoperable.

Mayo Clinic is an international leader in awake brain surgery. Neuroscientists at Mayo developed many of the awake brain surgery procedures that have been adopted by medical centers around the world. The Mayo Clinic brain surgery team has performed hundreds of awake surgeries, with a high success rate in extending patients' lives and improving their quality of life.

Brain Mapping Precision

Using surgical techniques developed at Mayo Clinic, the brain surgery medical team has significantly improved the precision of brain mapping to mark critical areas of the functional brain, which control the patient's vision, language and body movement.

Brain mapping, along with pioneering three-dimensional computer images, helps Mayo surgeons remove as much brain tumor or seizure tissue as possible, and lower the risks of patients losing critical body functions as a result of the surgery. Read more about awake brain surgery.

Advantages of Awake Brain Surgery

Option for previously inoperable brain tumors or seizures
Without this option, patients with brain tumors or epileptic seizures in the functional brain tissue would be unable to have surgery or would face a significant risk of losing function as a result of surgery.

Improved quality of life
Most patients have improved quality of life without loss of body functions as a result of awake brain surgery.

Prolonged life
Awake brain surgery can reduce the size of spreading brain tumors and, in many cases, prolong a patient's life.

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