Brain Surgery

Brain Surgery
Operating on the brain to treat various ailments of the brain is known as brain surgery. It is also known by the terms Craniotomy and Neurosurgery. It is one of the most sophisticated and advanced of medical procedures and requires several years of intensive training. In order to qualify as a brain surgeon, you need to have an excellent medical school record, must have done several years of medical residency and sub-specialization fellowship and have published significant scientific papers on clinical research. It is a demanding job with very long work hours.

History of Brain Surgery:
Performing surgery on the brain is not a modern phenomenon. From archaeological evidence, it seems the procedure was done even way back in Neolithic (Stone Age) times - and successfully too, as can be deduced from the found remains of Neolithic people. It sounds particularly shiver-inducing – getting your brain worked on with stone implements and no anesthesia, but then things weren't too easy back in 7000 B.C.

Brain surgery was also carried out with a fairly good record of success in the comparatively more modern ancient world by the Pre-Incans, Egyptians, Grecians, Romans and Muslims.

Pre-Incan folks - Brain surgery was a common procedure amongst the war-like Moche, Tiahuanacos, Huari, Chimu, Ocucajes, Nazcas, Paracas and Incas; with their penchant for warring constantly and smashing heads with clubs, it was actually a frequent necessity. They used surgical implements made of whale bone, obsidian, quartz, bronze, copper, gold, silver and alloys of these metals.

Egyptians - Given their strange burial rituals, the Egyptians were already accustomed to fishing out the brain with a hook through the nose. But it seems they had somewhat gentler methods to treat the brain ailments of living people and a record of these methods has been found by archaeologists on papyrus scrolls. The word ' brain' was, in fact, first coined by the Ancient Egyptians.

Grecians - When you think of Ancient Greece in connection with medicine, Hippocrates is the first name that comes to mind. He lived from 470 B.C. to 360 B.C., and compiled a vast amount of medical knowledge that has led him, in later centuries, to be dubbed as the Father of Modern Medical Ethics. His detailed texts on brain surgery are particularly interesting, largely accurate and still quite relevant.

Romans - The Roman obsession with 'the Empire' got them embroiled in near-perpetual warfare and, since war is a two-way street and Romans were as likely to get injured as the Barbarians, this led to positive developments on the medical front. Aulus Cornelius Celsus, who lived in the First Century A.D., was the first notable Roman brain surgeon. He successfully operated on depressed skull fractures and left detailed records about his medical observations. Other famous brain surgeons from the Roman Empire were Claudius Galenus of Pergamum, Oribasius and Paulus Aegineta.

Muslims – The period from 800 to 1200 A.D was a time of great affluence and abundance for Islamic culture and political power. Much research was done on the medical front too, and the Persian surgeon, Abū Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakarīya Rāzi (865-925 A.D.) proved himself a pioneer in neurological treatments.

Brain Surgery Procedure:
In ancient times, brain surgery was carried out out not just to treat actual ailments, but also imagined brain ailments – for example, to exorcise spirits or to placate them. In any case, the surgery was a very eventful event and was probably carried out along these lines -

• Bring patient to surgeon.
• Shave off patient's hair and sharpen the surgical implements.
• Give the patient a soporific or plenty of wine.
• Get ten strong men to hold patient still when cutting through the scalp and hammering a hole in the skull.
• Perform surgery while ignoring the blood-curdling yells.
• Hope for the best.

In modern times, the brain surgery procedure is somewhat along these lines -

• Prepare the patient for surgery.
• Shave patient's scalp.
• Clean scalp.
• Wheel patient into surgery.
• Give anesthesia.
• Make an incision through the scalp.
• Drill hole through the skull.
• Remove piece of skull.
• Perform the surgery.
• Replace the skull piece
• Sew up the scalp.
• Check patient's condition.
• Wait for patient to come around.

Brain surgery is carried out to treat the following conditions -

• Brain aneurysms
• Brain tumors
• Brain hemorrhage
• Brain hematomas
• Brain abscesses
• Brain tissue damage
• Brain blood vessel damage or abnormality
• Skull trauma or fractures

Despite all the progress made by modern medicine, brain surgery is not without risks. Some of the risks involve -

• Bleeding
• Infection
• Injury to brain tissue
• Injury to blood vessels
• Nerve or muscle paralysis or weakness
• Loss of mental functions (memory, speech, understanding)

Success rate depends on -

• Disease being treated
• General health of patient
• Extent of the surgical procedure
• Surgical techniques used.

The recovery time depends on the above and can take several weeks. The patient may be required to go in for regular check-ups thereafter and may have to take regular medications for a long period or on a permanent basis.