Awake Brain Surgery

Candidates for Awake Brain Surgery

Appropriate candidates for this procedure are determined by a multidisciplinary team that involves a neurologist, speech pathologist, neurosurgeon and, depending on the patient's condition, either an epileptologist (specialist in epilepsy) or neuro-oncologist (specialist in brain tumors).

Conditions that can make the patient a better candidate for this type of surgery include:

• A brain tumor that infiltrates, or spreads, throughout the brain and has no clear border, such as a glioma or astrocytoma brain tumor.
• Epileptic seizures originating in and around areas of the functional or eloquent brain.

Patients are assessed for their mental capacity to participate in awake surgery. Patients for whom awake surgery is appropriate are highly motivated, functionally competent and able to remain cooperative and calm while they are awake during the surgery.