Awake brain surgery in Rotterdam

The neurosurgical department of Erasmus MC Rotterdam is a pioneer in awake brain surgery. Awake brain surgery was performed for the first time in the Netherlands at EMC and has been done since 2004, led by neurosurgeon Prof. Vincent and anesthesiologist Dr. Klimek. In addition, the EMC neurosurgical team was the first to have a clinical linguist in the operating room to monitor language functions. Since 2010 clinical linguistic studies are ongoing in this field and many national and international centers are collaborating with us.

In this video Djaina explains in more detail: Operatie van een hersentumor bij een wakkere patiënt – Hersentumorcentrum

This video is about awake brain surgery in brain tumor patients. The goal of brain surgery in patients with a brain tumor (glioma) is to remove as much tumor as possible and preserve the functions of the brain. In a functional brain area, including the speech center, this is not easy. Therefore, these operations are sometimes performed while the patient is awake. During the awake part of the surgery, the brain is stimulated with electrical current impulses, so that language and speech functions, among other things, can be mapped. Brain functions are constantly monitored until the end of the operation is reached. In this way, we guarantee that brain functions remain intact while as much tumor as possible is removed.