Background: Despite possible advantages, few surgical series report specifically on awake craniotomy for intrinsic brain tumors in eloquent brain areas.
Objectives: Primary: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of fully awake craniotomy (FAC) for the resection of primary supratentorial brain tumors (PSBT) near or in eloquent brain areas (EBA) in a developing country. Secondary: To evaluate the impact of previous surgical history and different treatment modalities on outcome.
Patients and methods: From 1998 to 2007, 79 consecutive FACs for resection PSBT near or in EBA, performed by a single surgeon, were prospectively followed. Two groups were defined based on time period and surgical team: group A operated on from March 1998 to July 2004 without a multidisciplinary team and group B operated on from August 2004 to October 2007 in a multidisciplinary setting. For both time periods, two groups were defined: group I had no previous history of craniotomy, while group II had undergone a previous craniotomy for a PSBT. Forty-six patients were operated on in group A, 46 in group B, 49 in group I and 30 in group II. Psychological assessment and selection were obligatory. The preferred anesthetic procedure was an intravenous high-dose opioid infusion (Fentanil 50 microg, bolus infusion until a minimum dose of 10 microg/kg). Generous scalp and periosteous infiltrations were performed. Functional cortical mapping was performed in every case. Continuous somato-sensory evoked potentials (SSEPs) and phase reversal localization were available in 48 cases. Standard microsurgical techniques were performed and monitored by continuous clinical evaluation.
Results: Clinical data showed differences in time since clinical onset (p < 0.001), slowness of thought (p = 0.02) and memory deficits (p < 0.001) between study periods and also time since recent seizure onset for groups I and II (p = 0.001). Mean tumor volume was 51.2 +/- 48.7 cm3 and was not different among the four groups. The mean extent of tumor reduction was 90.0 +/- 12.7% and was similar for the whole series. A trend toward a larger incidence of glioblastoma multiforme occurred in group B (p = 0.05) and I (p = 0.04). Recovery of previous motor deficits was observed in 75.0% of patients, while motor worsening in 8.9% of cases. Recovery of semantic language deficits, control of refractory seizures and motor worsening were statistically more frequent in group B (p = 0.01). Satisfaction with the procedure was reported by 89.9% of patients, which was similar for all groups. Clinical complications were minimal, and surgical mortality was 1.3%.
Conclusions: These data suggest that FAC is safe and effective for the resection of PSBT in EBA as the main technique, and in a multidisciplinary context is associated with greater clinical and physiological monitoring. The previous history of craniotomy for PSBT did not seem to influence the outcome.