Will You Need a Second Craniotomy? When Repeat Brain Surgery Is Part of the Plan

The scar has faded to a thin pale line under the hair, the staples are a memory, and the follow-up scan is booked for next week. Then a friend of a friend mentions that her uncle “had to go back in.” Suddenly the question sitting quietly at the back of the mind steps forward: could this happen twice?

It is one of the most common worries after brain surgery, and one of the least talked about in the clinic, partly because the honest answer starts with “it depends.” A second craniotomy can mean very different things. For one person it was always the plan, written into the surgical strategy before the first incision. For another it arrives years later, after a scan shows something has grown back. For a smaller group it happens within days, urgently, because of bleeding or swelling.

This explainer walks through each of those paths, what repeat surgery involves, how recovery tends to differ the second time, and which questions are worth putting to your neurosurgical team.

What a second craniotomy actually is, and what happens during it

A craniotomy is an operation in which a neurosurgeon temporarily removes a section of skull bone to reach the brain, then puts that bone back at the end. The word breaks down simply: cranio for skull, -otomy for cutting. A second craniotomy is any repeat of that process in the same person, whether through the original incision or a new one.

The steps are broadly familiar the second time around. You are usually given general anesthesia, though some procedures near speech or movement areas are done as an awake craniotomy, in which you are woken during part of the operation so the team can test function while they work. The surgeon opens the scalp, lifts a bone flap, opens the dura (the tough outer covering of the brain), and carries out whatever the plan requires: removing tissue, draining a collection of blood, relieving pressure, or replacing missing bone. Navigation systems that match your live position to your scans help the team work precisely.

Where a repeat operation differs is underneath the surface. Scar tissue from the first surgery can make the layers stick together, so opening takes more care. The bone flap may have been fixed with small plates that now need releasing. If radiation was given between operations, the scalp and dura may heal more slowly, which shapes how the incision is planned and closed.

None of this makes a second craniotomy routine, but it does make it a known quantity. Neurosurgeons plan reoperations regularly, and the same principles that guided the first surgery, protecting healthy tissue and treating the underlying problem, guide the second. What changes most is the reason for going back, and that reason is what determines almost everything else about the experience.

Why some second craniotomies are part of the plan from day one

It surprises many people to learn that a repeat operation can be intentional. Staged surgery, in which a large or complex problem is deliberately handled in two sittings, is an established approach in neurosurgery. Consider three common examples.

The first is a very large tumor, or one wrapped around important blood vessels. Removing everything in a single long operation may carry more risk than taking out the safest portion first, letting the brain settle, and returning once the remaining tissue has become easier to reach. Patient information from the NHS on brain tumor treatment notes that surgeons sometimes remove as much as can safely be taken, with further treatment planned afterward.

The second is epilepsy surgery. When scans cannot pinpoint where seizures start, a surgeon may place recording electrodes directly on or in the brain during one operation, monitor for days, and then perform a second craniotomy to remove the identified area. Here the two operations are two halves of a single strategy.

The third involves swelling. After a severe head injury or a large stroke, surgeons may perform a decompressive craniectomy, an operation in which the bone flap is left off so the swollen brain has room. The missing bone is stored or discarded, and months later a planned operation called a cranioplasty replaces it with the original bone or a custom implant. That second operation is expected from the moment the first one ends.

If your surgeon has mentioned any of these, a second craniotomy is not a setback. It is a chapter already written into the plan, and asking how many stages are anticipated, and roughly when, is a fair and useful question.

What triggers an unplanned second craniotomy in the first days or weeks?

Unplanned early reoperation is the scenario people fear most, so it deserves a clear-eyed look. It happens to a minority of patients, and when it does, it is usually for one of a handful of reasons that surgical teams watch for closely.

Bleeding is the leading cause. A collection of blood, called a hematoma, can form in the space where tissue was removed, between the brain and its coverings, or under the scalp. Small collections are often watched with repeat imaging; larger ones that press on the brain may need to be drained. Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic both list bleeding and blood clots among the recognized risks of craniotomy.

Swelling is the second. Brain tissue can swell after being handled, and if medicines and positioning do not control the pressure, the team may reopen the site or convert to a craniectomy to give the brain room.

Infection is the third. An infected bone flap or wound may need to be cleaned out surgically, and sometimes the flap is removed and replaced later once the infection has cleared. Cerebrospinal fluid leaking through the incision or the nose is a fourth trigger, since a persistent leak raises infection risk and may need surgical repair.

Known risk factors for these early returns include blood-thinning medicines, problems with clotting, longer or more complex first operations, and certain tumor types that bleed easily. Your team will have weighed these before your first surgery, and it is why monitoring in the first days is so intensive. An early return to the operating room is a response to a problem the team has anticipated, not a surprise they are unprepared for.

Repeat surgery when a brain tumor comes back

For people whose first craniotomy was for a tumor, the question of a second one usually arrives with a follow-up scan. Some tumors, particularly certain gliomas (tumors arising from the brain’s supporting cells) and some meningiomas (tumors growing from the brain’s coverings), can regrow even after what looked like a complete removal.

Whether a repeat operation is offered depends on a cluster of factors that your neuro-oncology team will discuss together, often in a multidisciplinary meeting. They look at how much the tumor has grown and where, how well you recovered from the first operation, your current neurological function and general health, what other treatments you have had, and what removing the regrowth could realistically achieve. A tumor that has come back in a place that is easy to reach and is causing symptoms is a different proposition from scattered regrowth in areas that control speech or movement.

A second craniotomy for tumor is sometimes done to relieve pressure and symptoms, sometimes to obtain fresh tissue for updated testing, and sometimes to reduce the amount of tumor before further radiation or drug treatment. The NHS notes that treatment after surgery, including radiotherapy and chemotherapy, is chosen according to tumor type and grade, and the same logic applies when a tumor returns.

Honesty matters here. Repeat surgery does not promise a particular outcome, and for some people the risks of another operation outweigh the likely benefit. In that situation the team may recommend radiation, medicines, or close observation instead. If you are told that a second operation is being considered, ask specifically what the goal is, because “remove as much as possible” and “relieve pressure” lead to different conversations about what recovery and the months afterward might look like.

Why chronic subdural hematoma sometimes needs a second operation

Not every craniotomy is for a tumor. One of the most frequent reasons older adults have brain surgery is a chronic subdural hematoma, a slow collection of old blood between the brain and its outer covering that often follows a minor bump weeks earlier. Blood-thinning medicines, age-related brain shrinkage, and heavy alcohol use raise the risk.

Surgery for a chronic subdural hematoma is often simpler than a full craniotomy. Many are drained through one or two small holes in the skull, called burr holes, sometimes with a temporary drain left in place. A formal craniotomy is reserved for thicker, more organized collections that will not drain through a small opening.

The catch is recurrence. The NHS advises that a subdural hematoma can come back after it has been drained, and that some people need further surgery. The reasons are mechanical: the brain of an older adult may not expand quickly enough to close the space left behind, the membrane lining the collection can bleed again, and restarting blood thinners, which is often necessary for the heart or to prevent stroke, adds to the risk.

If you have had this operation, a second procedure is a possibility your team will have mentioned. Follow-up scans in the weeks after surgery are how recurrence is caught, usually before it causes major symptoms. Newer approaches that block the small arteries feeding the membrane are being studied and used in some centers, but whether they are appropriate for an individual is a decision for the neurosurgical team based on current evidence and the person’s circumstances, not something an article can settle.

Who is usually offered a second craniotomy, and who is asked to wait

There is no single rule, but the patterns are consistent enough to describe. A second craniotomy is more likely to be recommended when there is a clear target that surgery can change, such as a blood collection pressing on the brain, a tumor that has regrown in a reachable location, missing bone that needs replacing, or an infection that will not clear without cleaning the site. It is more likely when you recovered well from the first operation and your overall health would tolerate another anesthetic.

People are more often asked to wait, or offered something other than surgery, when the change on the scan is small and not causing symptoms, when the abnormal area sits in tissue that controls essential functions, when radiation or medicines are expected to work as well with less risk, or when other health conditions make anesthesia and recovery hazardous. Waiting is not neglect. Serial imaging, sometimes called active surveillance, lets a team see whether something is growing and how fast before committing to an operation.

Timing also matters. Surgeons generally prefer not to reopen a healing wound within the first weeks unless there is a pressing reason, because tissue that has not settled is more fragile and more prone to infection. Planned cranioplasty after a craniectomy is usually scheduled months later, once swelling has fully resolved.

Age alone rarely rules anyone out. What counts is function and fitness, which is why teams look at how you are managing day to day, not just the number on your chart. If you are told to wait, ask what specifically the team is watching for on the next scan and what finding would change the recommendation. That turns a vague “we’ll see” into a shared plan.

Is a craniotomy serious surgery, and is the second one riskier?

Yes, a craniotomy is major surgery. It involves general anesthesia in most cases, opening the skull, and working directly around tissue that controls everything from movement to memory. Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins list the recognized risks plainly: bleeding, infection, blood clots, seizures, swelling, stroke, problems with speech, memory or coordination, and reactions to anesthesia. Most people do not experience serious complications, but the list is real, and no responsible team pretends otherwise.

Is the second operation riskier? Often somewhat, though the added risk is specific rather than dramatic. Scar tissue makes dissection slower. The scalp and bone flap have already been disturbed once, and if radiation was given in between, blood supply to the skin may be reduced, which raises the chance of slow wound healing and infection. A brain that has already been operated on may be less tolerant of further handling in the same region.

Against that, the second operation often has advantages the first did not. The surgeon knows exactly what lies beneath the incision. Your team has seen how you responded to anesthesia and how your brain recovered. The goal is usually narrower and better defined. In planned staged operations, the second stage may be shorter than the first.

What the evidence does not support is a blanket claim that reoperation is safe or unsafe. Risk depends on the reason, the location, the interval since the first operation, and your health. The right question for your surgeon is not “is it risky” but “which risks are higher for me this time, and what are you doing about them.” A team that has thought about your case will have specific answers, from wound-closure technique to how they will manage swelling.

Second craniotomy scenarios at a glance

The phrase covers several very different situations. This summary separates them by why the operation happens and what that usually means for the person going through it. Timeframes are general patterns described in mainstream patient resources, not promises about any individual.

Scenario	Planned or unplanned	Typical timing after first surgery	Usual goal
Staged tumor removal	Planned	Weeks to months, per surgical plan	Complete a resection safely in two steps
Two-stage epilepsy surgery	Planned	Days, after electrode monitoring	Remove the seizure focus once located
Cranioplasty after craniectomy	Planned	Months, once swelling resolves	Restore skull protection and contour
Post-operative hematoma or swelling	Unplanned, urgent	Hours to days	Relieve pressure on the brain
Wound infection or fluid leak	Unplanned	Days to weeks	Clean the site, repair the leak
Recurrent tumor	Elective, after imaging	Months to years	Relieve symptoms, reduce tumor, update diagnosis
Recurrent chronic subdural hematoma	Elective or semi-urgent	Weeks to months	Drain re-accumulated blood

Two things stand out. Most planned second operations are scheduled with the brain’s healing timeline in mind, which is why cranioplasty waits months while an epilepsy second stage follows within days. Unplanned early returns cluster in the first days, which is exactly when hospital monitoring is most intense.

If your situation does not fit neatly into one row, that is normal. Real cases overlap, and your team’s explanation of where you sit is worth more than any table.

Do you go to the ICU after a craniotomy the second time?

Usually, yes, at least briefly. Johns Hopkins describes the standard path: after the operation you are taken to a recovery area, and from there many people are moved to an intensive care unit or a specialized neurosurgical unit for close observation before transferring to a regular ward. The same pattern applies to a repeat operation, and in some cases the team plans a slightly longer period of intensive monitoring because of the added risk of swelling or bleeding in previously operated tissue.

What happens in that unit is less alarming than the name suggests. Nurses check your neurological status frequently, sometimes hourly at first, asking you to squeeze their hands, move your feet, name objects, and answer simple questions. Blood pressure is controlled tightly because high pressure increases the chance of bleeding at the surgical site. You may have a drain from the wound, a catheter, and monitoring lines. A scan within the first day or two is common to confirm there is no significant bleeding or swelling.

People who have been through it before often find the second stay easier to tolerate because the routine is familiar. Others find it harder emotionally, especially if the reason for the operation was unwelcome news. Both reactions are normal, and it is reasonable to ask for a member of the team to explain what each check is looking for.

Total hospital stay varies with the reason for surgery. MedlinePlus describes typical stays after brain surgery in terms of days rather than weeks, often somewhere around three to seven days, with longer stays for people who need rehabilitation or who had complications. A short planned cranioplasty may fall at the shorter end; an urgent operation for swelling may mean a longer intensive care stay. Your team can give you a range that fits your own situation.

Repeat craniotomy recovery: how long the brain takes to heal and what the weeks look like

The honest answer to “how long does the brain take to heal” has two layers. The scalp, bone, and coverings heal on a schedule similar to other surgery. The brain itself, and the functions it controls, recover on a slower and more individual timeline.

In the first week, fatigue dominates. Headache is common and usually eases over days. Swelling around the eye and face on the operated side can look dramatic and settles on its own. Cleveland Clinic patient guidance describes many people returning to light routine activities over roughly four to eight weeks, while deeper healing continues for months. Stitches or staples are typically removed at a follow-up visit in the early weeks.

Weeks two to six bring gradual gains. Concentration returns in patches. Short walks become longer ones. Driving is usually restricted until your team clears you, and longer if you have had a seizure. If your operation involved areas that control speech, movement, or vision, therapy with speech, physical, or occupational therapists may start in hospital and continue as an outpatient.

After a second craniotomy, expect the pattern to be similar but not identical. Some people report that fatigue lasts longer, particularly if they went into the operation less rested than the first time, or if radiation or drug treatment is running alongside. Wound care may be more careful if the scalp has been irradiated. Emotional recovery can also differ: the novelty is gone, and what remains is the work.

The most reliable predictor of how you will recover is how you recovered before, combined with the reason for the repeat operation. A planned cranioplasty in a well person tends to be a gentler experience than an urgent reopening for swelling. Ask your team which of these your situation resembles, and let that shape your expectations rather than someone else’s story online.

What is the survival rate after a craniotomy? Why there is no single number

People type this question into search engines constantly, and the results are often misleading, because a craniotomy is not a disease. It is a route into the skull used for dozens of different conditions, from a benign meningioma to a ruptured aneurysm to a severe head injury. Any single “survival rate after craniotomy” blends those together into a figure that applies to no one in particular.

What determines outlook is the underlying diagnosis, not the operation. A craniotomy to remove a slow-growing benign tumor in a healthy adult and a craniotomy to relieve pressure after a major hemorrhage in a critically ill person are entirely different situations that happen to share a surgical technique. Mayo Clinic and other major sources describe outcomes for craniotomy in terms of the condition being treated, and that is the right way to think about it.

The same applies to a second craniotomy. Outlook after repeat surgery for a recurrent tumor depends on the tumor’s type and grade, how much can be removed, and what other treatment is available. Outlook after cranioplasty depends largely on how well the person recovered from the original injury. Outlook after reoperation for a post-operative hematoma depends on how quickly it was recognized and how much pressure it caused.

If you want a meaningful answer, ask your team a narrower question: “For my diagnosis, at my age, with my scan, what does the evidence say about people in a similar position?” That question can be answered with published data for your specific condition, often from guideline-level sources your neuro-oncologist or neurosurgeon uses daily. The broad search-engine figure cannot. Treat any website that quotes a single survival percentage for craniotomy as a red flag for oversimplification, not as information about you.

Alternatives to a second operation: radiation, medicines, and watchful waiting

Surgery is one tool among several, and a recommendation against a second craniotomy is often a recommendation for something else rather than for nothing.

Radiation is the most common alternative for regrown tumors. Conventional radiotherapy delivers treatment over a series of sessions to a defined area. Stereotactic radiosurgery, despite its name, involves no incision; it focuses many precise beams on a small target in one or a few sessions. The NHS lists both as options after or instead of surgery, depending on tumor type and location. Radiation cannot relieve pressure quickly the way surgery can, which is one reason large symptomatic regrowth still tends to go to the operating room.

Medicines play several roles. Corticosteroids, a class that reduces swelling around tumors and surgical sites, are used to control symptoms while other treatment takes effect. Anti-seizure medicines are prescribed when seizures have occurred or the risk is judged high. Chemotherapy and targeted drugs are chosen by tumor type. Which of these applies to you, how long they continue, and how they are adjusted are decisions for your prescribing team, and changing or stopping them without that guidance can be dangerous.

Watchful waiting means scheduled imaging with a clear plan for what would prompt action. It suits small, slow, or symptom-free changes and is common for low-grade tumors and small residual collections.

For chronic subdural hematoma, some centers use procedures that block the small arteries feeding the membrane around the collection, aiming to reduce recurrence. These approaches are still being evaluated, and whether they are suitable for a particular person depends on current evidence and local expertise, a judgment your neurosurgical team is placed to make. Asking “what happens if we don’t operate” is one of the most clarifying questions in the whole conversation.

What people often get wrong about having brain surgery twice

“Needing a second operation means the first one failed.” Often the opposite. Staged operations, cranioplasty, and epilepsy second stages are signs of a plan working as designed. Even reoperation for tumor regrowth reflects the biology of the tumor rather than a mistake, and a first operation that bought years of good function did its job.

“The skull can only be opened once.” Bone flaps can be lifted more than once, and when the original bone is not usable, custom implants replace it. Surgeons plan incisions with possible future access in mind.

“Craniotomy and craniectomy are the same thing.” In a craniotomy the bone is put back at the end of the operation. In a craniectomy it is deliberately left off to give a swollen brain room, and a later cranioplasty replaces it. If you or a relative had a craniectomy, a second operation is expected rather than a possibility.

“Recovery the second time is always worse.” Sometimes it is longer, sometimes shorter. A planned cranioplasty in a person who has fully recovered from the original injury is frequently a smaller experience than the first surgery. What tends to be heavier is the emotional load, and that deserves attention in its own right.

“If the scan shows something, surgery is inevitable.” Many findings are watched, treated with radiation, or managed with medicines. The scan starts a conversation; it does not end one.

“Online survival figures for craniotomy apply to me.” They describe a mixture of conditions. Your outlook is tied to your diagnosis, and only a clinician who knows it can put numbers in context.

Each of these myths tends to add fear without adding information. Replacing them with the specific facts of your case is one of the more useful things a follow-up appointment can do.

Questions to ask your care team about a second craniotomy

The most productive appointments tend to be the ones where the person arrives with a short list. These questions are drawn from what people commonly wish they had asked before a repeat operation. Not all will apply, and your team may raise others.

• Why exactly is a second operation being considered now, and what is the specific goal: relieve pressure, remove regrowth, replace bone, treat infection, or obtain tissue for testing?
• What would happen if we chose not to operate, and what would we watch for on the next scan that might change that?
• Which alternatives, such as radiation, radiosurgery, or observation, did you weigh, and why did surgery come out ahead for me?
• Which risks are higher for me this time compared with my first operation, and what steps are you taking to lower them?
• Will you use the same incision? Has previous radiation affected how my scalp is likely to heal?
• How long do you expect me to be in intensive care and in hospital, and what would extend that?
• What functions are near the area you will be working in, and how will you protect them? Is an awake technique being considered?
• How did my recovery from the first surgery inform your expectations for this one?
• Will any of my current medicines, especially blood thinners or anti-seizure medicines, need to be adjusted around surgery, and who will manage that?
• What rehabilitation or therapy might I need afterward, and can it be arranged in advance?
• Who is my point of contact if something worries me after discharge, including at night or on weekends?
• Is my case being discussed by a multidisciplinary team, and can I hear a summary of that discussion?

Writing the answers down, or bringing someone who can, makes a difference. People routinely retain only a fraction of what is said in a surgical consultation, and the second time around the stakes of forgetting feel higher.

When to call your doctor after any craniotomy

Whether your operation was your first or your second, the warning signs in the weeks afterward are the same, and knowing them is more useful than worrying in general. Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic, and Johns Hopkins each publish similar lists, and the pattern is consistent: contact your neurosurgical team promptly, or seek emergency care, if you notice any of the following.

• A new or worsening headache that does not ease with the measures your team advised, especially with vomiting.
• New weakness, numbness, or clumsiness in the face, an arm, or a leg.
• New difficulty speaking, understanding speech, or finding words.
• A seizure, whether or not you have had one before.
• Increasing drowsiness, confusion, or difficulty staying awake.
• Vision changes, such as double vision or loss of part of the visual field.
• Fever, chills, or a stiff neck.
• Redness, swelling, warmth, or discharge from the incision, or the wound opening.
• Clear or watery fluid leaking from the incision, nose, or ear, which can be cerebrospinal fluid.
• Pain, swelling, or warmth in a calf, or sudden shortness of breath or chest pain, which can signal a blood clot.

Sudden severe symptoms, a seizure that does not stop, or rapidly falling alertness are reasons to call emergency services rather than wait for a callback. For less dramatic changes, use the contact number your team gave you at discharge; a nurse or resident can often tell you within minutes whether you need to be seen.

Two more points. First, do not stop or change any prescribed medicine, including steroids, anti-seizure medicines, or blood thinners, on your own because you are worried; call and ask. Second, trust the observations of the people around you. Family members often notice subtle changes in speech, mood, or alertness before the person does, and a relative’s concern is a perfectly good reason to make the call.

Frequently asked questions

Can you have brain surgery twice?

Yes, people can and do have brain surgery more than once. The skull bone can be lifted again through the same or a new incision, and when the original bone is not usable, a custom implant replaces it. Whether a second operation is advisable depends on the reason, the location, the interval since the first surgery, and your overall health, all of which your neurosurgical team weighs before recommending it.

How long does it take the brain to heal after a craniotomy?

The scalp and bone heal over the first weeks, while the brain and the functions it controls recover more gradually and individually. Cleveland Clinic guidance describes many people returning to light routine activities over roughly four to eight weeks, with deeper recovery, including energy, concentration, and any affected functions, continuing for months. Your own pace depends on the reason for surgery, its location, and your health.

Do you go to the ICU after craniotomy?

Usually, at least briefly. Johns Hopkins describes the standard path as a recovery area followed by an intensive care or specialized neurosurgical unit for close monitoring, then a regular ward. In that unit nurses check your movement, speech, and alertness frequently and control your blood pressure to reduce bleeding risk. After a repeat operation, the team may plan a slightly longer period of observation.

What is the survival rate after a craniotomy?

There is no single meaningful figure. A craniotomy is a surgical route used for many different conditions, from benign tumors to severe head injuries, and outlook depends on the diagnosis rather than the operation. Any website quoting one survival percentage for craniotomy is blending unrelated situations. Ask your team what the evidence shows for people with your specific condition, age, and scan findings.

Is craniotomy a serious surgery?

Yes. It is major surgery under general anesthesia in most cases, and recognized risks listed by Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins include bleeding, infection, blood clots, seizures, swelling, stroke, and changes in speech, memory, or coordination. Most people do not have serious complications, but the risks are real. A repeat operation may carry some additional, specific risks related to scar tissue and previous radiation.

What is the difference between craniotomy vs craniectomy?

In a craniotomy the section of skull bone removed to reach the brain is put back at the end of the operation. In a craniectomy the bone is deliberately left off so a swollen brain has room, usually after severe head injury or a large stroke. Months later, once swelling has resolved, a planned operation called a cranioplasty replaces the bone or fits a custom implant.

What causes an unplanned second craniotomy?

The most common triggers are a collection of blood pressing on the brain, swelling that medicines cannot control, infection of the wound or bone flap, and a persistent cerebrospinal fluid leak. Risk factors include blood-thinning medicines, clotting problems, and longer or more complex first operations. These events affect a minority of patients and typically occur in the first days or weeks, when monitoring is most intensive.

Does a second craniotomy mean my tumor treatment is not working?

Not necessarily. Some tumors regrow because of their biology even after a complete removal, and a first operation that provided years of good function did its job. Repeat surgery may aim to relieve symptoms, reduce tumor before radiation or drug treatment, or obtain fresh tissue for updated testing. Your neuro-oncology team can explain the specific goal and how it fits with your other treatment.

Is repeat craniotomy recovery harder than the first time?

It varies. Some people find fatigue lasts longer, especially if radiation or drug treatment is running alongside or if they went in less rested. Others find a planned cranioplasty gentler than their original surgery. Wound healing may need extra care after radiation. The emotional load is often heavier the second time, and it is reasonable to ask for support with that as well as with physical recovery.

What are the alternatives to a second brain operation?

Depending on the problem, alternatives include conventional radiotherapy, stereotactic radiosurgery, medicines such as corticosteroids to control swelling or drugs chosen by tumor type, and watchful waiting with scheduled scans. For recurrent subdural hematoma, procedures that block the arteries feeding the collection are used in some centers and are still being evaluated. Which option suits you is a decision for your treating team.

References

• Brain surgery: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia
• Subdural haematoma: NHS

This article is for general information only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult a qualified doctor about your individual situation.