Awake right hemisphere brain surgery.
We report the indications and outcomes of awake right hemispheric brain surgery, as well as a rare patient with crossed aphasia. Awake craniotomies are often performed to protect eloquent cortex. We reviewed the medical records for 35 of 96 patients, in detail, who had awake right hemisphere brain operations. Intraoperative cortical mapping of motor and/or language function was performed in 29 of the 35 patients. A preoperative speech impairment and left hand dominance were the main indicators for awake right-sided craniotomies in patients with right hemisphere lesions. Four patients with lesion proximity to eloquent areas underwent awake craniotomies without cortical mapping. In addition, one patient had a broncho-pulmonary fistula, and another had a recent major cardiac procedure that precluded awake surgery. An eloquent cortex representation was identified in 14 patients (48.3%). Postoperatively, seven of 17 patients (41.1%) who presented with weakness, experienced improvements in their motor functions, 11 of 16 (68.7%) with seizures became seizure-free, and seven of nine (77.7%) with moderate to severe headaches and one of two with a visual field deficit improved significantly. There were also improvements in speech and language functions in all patients who presented with speech difficulties. A right sided awake craniotomy is an excellent option for left handed patients, or those with right sided cortical lesions that result in preoperative speech impairments. When combined with intraoperative cortical mapping, both speech and motor function can be well preserved.
Department of Neurosurgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
M Maher
MM
Hulou
Department of Neurosurgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
David J
DJ
Cote
Department of Neurosurgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Olutayo I
OI
Olubiyi
Department of Neurosurgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Timothy R
TR
Smith
Department of Neurosurgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
E Antonio
EA
Chiocca
Department of Neurosurgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Electronic address: mjohnson27@partners.org.
Mark D
MD
Johnson
D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods; D054022:Cerebrum / Q000601:surgery*; D003399:Craniotomy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D064795:Intraoperative Neurophysiological Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014851:Wakefulness
Awake craniotomy; Brain mapping; Functional MRI; Outcomes; Right hemisphere