When they do brain surgery how do they get into your brain?

Question

Isn't it protected by your skull?

Answer 1

There are various ways of doing so:

1. One or more holes are drilled in the skull using a manual or a pneumatic drill. These holes are connected using either a sharp wire called Gigli saw, or using an instrument called 'craniotome' which cuts through the bone and has a protective plate which protects the underlying dura mater from injury. Then the bone flap is gently removed and you see the outermost meningeal layer, the dura mater. This is incised and there you see the brain surrounded by the thin pia-arachnoid layer.

2. Another way is just to make a hole and put an endoscope through it (the endoscope can convey many fine instruments through it). This is called 'minimally invasive surgery'. This requires special training.

3. Some of the areas of the brain can be accessed by alternate routes. for eg.
(i) pituitary lesions can be accessed by using trans-nasal transsphenoidal, or sublabial transsphenoidal route where the incisions are made within the nasal cavity/under the lip and advanced through the sphenoid sinus into the area needed.
(ii) some of the skull base lesions are approached through facial incisions or even trans-oral routes.

Nowadays there are procedures known as 'radiosurgery' where certain brain lesions can be treated using ionizing radiation/charged particles without opening the skull at all.

Hope you got some idea.

Answer 2

How To Do Brain Surgery

Answer 3

How Is Brain Surgery Performed

Answer 4

It is cut open. The neurosurgeon uses many tools similar to what you would find in the garage, but made for surgery and sterile of course.
They use a small saw comparible to a dremmel to cut a hole in the skull as large as needed to gain access to the brain. They also use special drills that are made to stop the second they go through the skull so as not to damage the brain.
When finished the surgeon uses small metal brackets to fasten the part of the skull that was removed, and after time the skull will patch itself up just like any other mending bone.

Actually you can see the peocedure if you want.
WARNING!!!!!
This is On-Demand surgical procedure.
http://www.or-live.com/WFUBMC/1479/event/rnh.cfm

For more On-Demand surgeries check out:
http://www.or-live.com/

Answer 5

They can cut a piece of the skull out to access the brain or drill a hole using a special drill.

The pieces of skull that are cut out are glued with an adhesive after surgery is finished.

Answer 6

It is also possible to perform limited brain surgery by going through the sinus cavity (the nose) or even through the orbital cavity (the eye). An ice pick through the upper nasal sinus into the brain was the earliest way to perform a frontal lobotomy -- gross but true.

Answer 7

The skull is cut open or a hole is drilled through the skull in order to get to the brain.

Answer 8

David? Cmon, you ever see the Hannibal Lecter movie, no 2?
I know you are not this stupid. But I will answer anyway. They cut open the skull bone. Buzzzzzzzzzzz then crack/ and there you go.

I'm not a Doctor but I HAVE stayed at the Holiday Inn. ; )

Answer 9

i don't know but i do know that in ancient egypt, when they mummified dead bodies, they had to empty the body of all guts without harming the outside of the body. Mummifiers used a hook and dug out the brains through the nose.