THE EFFICACY OF AWAKE NEUROSURGERY IN THE TREATMENT OF BRAIN NEOPLASMS

Abstract

Awake neurosurgery or awake craniotomy is a technique in which the patient is kept conscious during part of the surgery, allowing the mapping and excision of lesions in areas of the brain considered eloquent. This procedure has shown significant benefits in the prognosis and treatment of complex intracranial pathologies, especially brain neoplasms. Advances in anesthetic agents and surgical techniques have contributed to this trend, providing more effective anesthesia and allowing more precise and safer procedures. The objective is to understand the effectiveness of the awake neurosurgery technique in the prognosis and treatment of brain neoplasms. This study was carried out as a systematic review of the literature, based on bibliographic data from the MedLine, Lilacs, PubMed, SciElo and Google Scholar databases, from the last ten years, in Portuguese, English and Spanish. The descriptors used included “neurosurgery”, “brain neoplasms”, “awake surgery” and “treatment efficacy”. After searching the databases mentioned using the selected descriptors, 359 articles were found, which after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria resulted in a sample of 11 studies. Thus, awake craniotomy has proven to be an effective and safe technique for the treatment of brain tumors in eloquent areas, associating a high resection rate with preservation of neurological functions. Advances in anesthetic techniques and rigor in surgical planning are decisive for the success of this procedure, which has consolidated itself as a valuable treatment option in oncological neurosurgery.