December 18, 2006
cool/freaky/cogsci/i hope it never happens to me...
OK, brain surgery is scary. One of the big reasons is the anaesthesia - because anytime you go under anaesthetics there are all kinds of risks that might cause you to just not wake up. Another tricky thing about brain surgery is - obviously - not messing up. by that i mean, e.g. when removing a tumor, to remove all of the tumor, while not damaging any other part of the brain.
Some of these problems are now fading into the past of brain surgery. Patients can now be awake during the procedure, and can actually be used to test brain functions (can you still move your left arm? see anything?) during the surgery.
so the thought makes me a bit squeamish, but the end result is safer, and more precise surgery, so that's good...
Posted by lara at December 18, 2006 02:06 PM
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