Tuesday, December 14, 2010
The craniotomy is the most common type of brain surgery performed.
What is it? Craniotomy is the surgical opening of the cranium, the bones of the skull. Crani- refers to the cranium, and -otomy means to cut into. In my case, it will be done to identify and repair the hole in my dura and repair bony defects in my skull and ear bones.
Once asleep, my head will be placed in a 3-pin skull fixation device, which attaches to the table and holds the head in position during the procedure. The surgeon will shave the area for the incision, but hopefully not too much!
The whole thing will take 2-4 hours and then I will go to ICU for 1-2 days. My total hospital stay is supposed to be 5-7 days. Recovery at home in bed for a couple more weeks and hopefully in 6-8 weeks I will be like new again.
The craniotomy is the most common type of brain surgery performed.
What is it? Craniotomy is the surgical opening of the cranium, the bones of the skull. Crani- refers to the cranium, and -otomy means to cut into. In my case, it will be done to identify and repair the hole in my dura and repair bony defects in my skull and ear bones.
Once asleep, my head will be placed in a 3-pin skull fixation device, which attaches to the table and holds the head in position during the procedure. The surgeon will shave the area for the incision, but hopefully not too much!
- A horseshoe shaped (about 4 inches) incision is made in the scalp above the right ear.
- The skin is pulled back exposing the temporalis muscle underneath.
- The temporalis muscle is pulled down exposing the bone over the brain.
- Next, small burr holes are drilled in the skull with a power drill. A surgical saw is used to connect the holes and create a "window" in the skull through which surgery will take place. The removed bone piece is kept sterile for replacement at the end of the operation.
- At this point some spinal fluid is drained from a catheter placed in my spine called a lumbar drain. This allows the brain to relax.
- Gentle retraction of the dura exposes the structures at the base of the brain and will allow the surgeon to locate and repair the tear in the dura.
- He will also repair the 11 mm bone defect, using a graft from my own skull if it is thick enough or a titanium mesh if not. He will be able to look around for other potential leaks as well before he closes me up.
- After the dura has been stitched closed, the bone flap is replaced back in its original position and secured to the skull with titanium plates and screws. They say I won't set the metal detectors off and can still have an MRI!
The whole thing will take 2-4 hours and then I will go to ICU for 1-2 days. My total hospital stay is supposed to be 5-7 days. Recovery at home in bed for a couple more weeks and hopefully in 6-8 weeks I will be like new again.
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