Why some patients do not wake up well during awake brain surgery
Original title: Predictors of Insufficient Awakening During Awake Surgery: A Single-Center Retrospective Study.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was tested in people. That is the most reliable kind of research we share.
This was a look back at past patient records, not a test of a new treatment.
The short version
Doctors found a brain scan sign that may warn when a patient will not wake up well during surgery.
What was studied. Doctors looked back at 78 awake brain surgeries done at one hospital between 2021 and 2024. They checked which patient traits went along with not waking up enough during surgery.
What they found. Poor waking up happened in 13 cases, or 16.7%. The strongest link was swelling deep in the brain seen on an MRI scan. In 2 of 7 patients with glioblastoma: A glioma that is given grade 4. Grade 4 is the highest grade there is. The tumor grows fast. Treatment usually starts soon after it is found. It often means surgery, and then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary, that deep swelling cleared up after steroid medicine, and both awake surgeries went well.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: Your care team may study your brain scan closely before awake surgery. If deep swelling shows up, they can plan for it. Steroid medicine given ahead of time might help some patients stay awake enough.
What it doesn't mean: This does not mean steroids fix the problem. One hospital looked back at old records. Only 2 patients had the swelling clear up, which is far too few to prove anything. This is not a new treatment and not a cure. Doctors say more studies at more hospitals are needed.
Source: PubMed, October 12, 2026 · Read the original
This plain-language summary was written by AI and published automatically after passing our automatic safety checks. How we write.