Welcome to the World of Awake Surgery !

Abstract

  Awake surgery, or awake craniotomy, is performed in brain tumors called gliomas, which grow and infi ltrate into brain tissue, as well as drug resistance epilepsy, aiming to protect higher brain functions, including speech and language. In other words, awake surgery is a surgery that ensures the patientsʼ true quality of lives, returning them to their normal social lives. In Japan, the guidelines for awake surgery were established ahead of the rest of the world. It has been incorporated into the health insurance system, as well, and becoming more and more popular. To have a maximum success, it is crucial to have a good surgical team, consisting of multidisciplinary professionals, such as neurosurgeons, neurologists, speech therapists, occupational therapists and so on, and to achieve a fi ne balance of the two goals, the excision of brain lesions and preservation of the cognitive and behavioral functions, depending on patientsʼ social backgrounds and lifestyles. Awake surgery also provides a precious opportunity to directly evaluate indigenous functions to humans, contributing to a progress in neuroscience. I hope this article will inspire many of our colleagues from these specialties to become interested in this exciting scientifi c fi eld.