Brain tumors are a common cause of death from neurological disease second only to strokes. Clinical signs/symptoms of brain tumors Brain is contained in the bony skull - that is a closed cavity. Any increase in volume caused by growth of tumor cells will cause an increase in pressure within the skull and result in symptoms. In addition, the location of tumor determines what function of brain is affected. The patient with brain tumor will present with the following symptoms - Headache-most common Nausea/vomiting Loss or alteration of consciousness Seizures or fits Behavioral changes, personality changes, confusion, irritability Visual disturbances like decreased vision, black-outs, double vision Sensation loss over the face Facial asymmetry Difficulty in hearing Difficulty in swallowing food Weakness or numbness of the limbs Speech difficulty What are the different treatment options? Observation in small, non-cancerous, slow growing tumors, with mild symptoms controlled with minimum medicines, especially in old people – usually done in very small number of patients Medical treatment to control symptoms before definitive treatment Micro-neurosurgery using a microscope to safely and delicately remove the tumor without damaging the normal brain tissue Endoscopic surgery – a minimally invasive technique using an endoscope to remove certain tumors through a small opening in the skull Stereotactic biopsy – using computer assisted techniques to safely take a small biopsy from deep seated brain tumors Radiation therapy - whole brain radiation Chemotherapy Radiosurgery – using highly focused beams of radiation to control small brain tumors without opening the skull or giving any incision. For treatments in India email: meditourglobal@gmail
Posted on: Tue, 11 Jun 2013 01:23:20 +0000
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