Brain Cancer Treatment Options | Craniotomy

CPMC's best brain cancer neuro-oncology physicians are at the forefront of treating patients with brain tumors, delivering brain tumor treatment options and performing microsurgery for primary brain cancers such as gliomas and meningiomas; skull base brain tumors such as craniopharyngiomas; as well as, metastatic brain tumors and systemic cancer.

Read our Craniotomy procedure profile

Crainogomy for brain cancer is considered one of the most common surgeries and best brain tumor surgeries today for treating brain tumors and other brain related conditions, a craniotomy is a small strategically placed window in the skull allowing neurosurgeons access to the brain for tumor removal and surgical repair.

Brain Tumor Treatment : Safety and Efficacy

Emphasizing safety and efficacy, preoperative MRI, CT, or arteriogram imaging studies are conducted to identify the most appropriate site for the craniotomy. Several small-interconnected burr holes are drilled into the skull to create the craniotomy window. Through this window, neurosurgeons access the tumor directly. The tumor is removed using microsurgical techniques, aided, as necessary, with frameless stereotaxic techniques to minimize injury to the surrounding brain and to localize a deep-lying tumor.

Brain Tumor Treatment: Microsurgery

Microsurgery provides a magnified view of the operating area making it easier for neurosurgeons to see and remove tumor tissues sparing more healthy brain tissue, as a smaller clean margin area is necessary. Neurosurgeons use microscissors and microscapels to remove diseased tissue. Additional surgical devices, ultrasonic aspirators and lasers, are employed for maximal or complete tumor removal to ensure patient safety.

Craniotomy allows direct brain access and is most appropriate for larger tumors, particularly large and bulky tumors that compress brain structures and cause neurological dysfunction. Radiosurgery and gammaknife are techniques used more often for specific smaller tumors known to be radiosensitive in which total removal of the tumor is not necessary.

California Pacific Brain Tumor | Neuro-Oncology Services

California Pacific Medical Center

California Pacific Neuroscience Institute.
The California Pacific Neuroscience Institute in San Francisco features some of the top-rated neurology physicians and neurosurgeons in the San Francisco Bay Area, Marin county and Northern California. Providing personalized patient care using the most successful spine, brain, stroke and epilepsy surgical options available is what we do best.
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