Children’s Brain Surgery and Pediatric Brain Cancer

Looking for information on the topic of children’s brain surgery? Pediatric neurosurgeons are medical professionals who perform this type of surgery. Neurosurgeons are specifically trained in diagnosing and treating brain, spine and nerve problems.

Brain cancer in children

Understanding what is involved in children's brain surgery is necessary if parents learn that their child has brain cancer. While surgery is often necessary, not all children who are diagnosed with pediatric brain cancer will need to undergo a surgical process in order to remove the cancer. Brain tumors in children can happen at any age and are often caused by an abnormality within their genes or chromosomes. These tumors start growing in the cells of a child’s brain and are either non-cancerous or cancerous.

Pediatric brain surgery

The list below includes a few important facts about pediatric brain surgery.

The goal of children's brain surgery

The overall goal of performing brain surgery on children is to remove all of the brain cancer. If not all of it can be removed, then the pediatric neurosurgeon will remove as much as they safely can. Removing the cancer not only helps improve the overall health of a child, but it also helps relieve any pressure caused by having the cancer in their brain. Because neurosurgeons use advanced imaging technologies, they are better able to remove any of the cancer while also protecting the healthy brain tissue.

Minimally invasive techniques

Minimally invasive surgical techniques are used in order to minimize a child’s risks when undergoing surgery. These techniques often involve using an endoscope, which is a long, thin surgical instrument that can be inserted into the body via a small opening. At the end of the endoscope is a video camera, allowing neurosurgeons the ability to see what they are doing with extreme precision. Minimally invasive techniques also help minimize the size of the incision, as well as any scarring.

After surgical treatment

The fact that brain cancer can return even after a child undergoes surgery means that many children will receive additional treatment, e.g., radiation and chemotherapy. These two brain cancer treatment options are used to kill any invisible cancer cells in the brain that were not removed during the surgical process. Radiation and chemotherapy may also be used when it is not possible to surgically treat a child’s brain cancer due to its location. Radiation uses beams of high-energy light to kill cancer cells, and chemotherapy uses powerful drugs to kill cancer cells.

Pediatric neurosurgeons treat brain cancer

Realizing that children's brain surgery is a necessary procedure for many children who have been diagnosed with brain cancer helps parents understand that this is a common surgical procedure. Pediatric neurosurgeons have undergone the education and training necessary to perform brain surgery on children who have been diagnosed with brain cancer. It is important for parents to understand what happens during brain surgery, as this allows them to provide their child with the proper aftercare treatment.

Request an appointment here: https://www.drloudonpediatricneurosurgery.com or call Dr. William G. Loudon, Pediatric Neurosurgery at (714) 677-9463 for an appointment in our Orange office.

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