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It usually ranges from 2 to 8 hours depending on tumor type and location; a simple meningioma resection may take 2–3 hours, while deep-seated or awake glioma surgery can reach 6–8 hours. Duration alone is not a measure of success; what matters is that the surgery is done correctly and completely. 24–48 hours of intensive care and a total hospital stay of 3–7 days are usual.

No. For some tumors surgery is the first choice, but a small asymptomatic meningioma can be followed, lymphoma is treated with chemotherapy-radiotherapy rather than surgery, and some deep-seated gliomas may be managed with biopsy and radiotherapy/Gamma Knife. The right method is determined by tissue diagnosis and multidisciplinary evaluation.

No. Modern practice aims for as little shaving as possible; in most cases only a narrow strip along the incision line is shaved. Shaving the entire head is now rarely necessary.

Yes. Patients reach us from across Turkey and abroad. You can send your existing MRI or CT images via WhatsApp (+90 533 075 72 94) for a preliminary assessment. If appropriate, you will be invited for an examination and further imaging planned if needed.

No. Most aneurysms never rupture and remain unnoticed; in small aneurysms (<7 mm) the annual rupture risk is quite low. Risk varies with size, location, family history and growth rate and is estimated with tools such as the PHASES score.

Both are effective methods reported in the literature with 90–95% success; the 'better' one is the one most suitable for the patient. Coiling is less invasive with quick recovery but carries a risk of reopening (recanalisation); clipping offers a permanent solution but requires a craniotomy. The decision is made according to the aneurysm's characteristics and patient factors.

If you have the worst headache of your life starting within seconds (a feeling that 'something burst in my head') together with neck stiffness, nausea-vomiting or confusion, go to the emergency department immediately and call the emergency number. This picture may be a subarachnoid haemorrhage from a ruptured aneurysm, and early treatment saves lives.

Most aneurysms are not hereditary. However, if two or more of your first-degree relatives have a history of aneurysm or brain haemorrhage, familial risk increases; in that case screening with MRA may be recommended. You can share your MRI/CT images via WhatsApp (+90 533 075 72 94) for a preliminary assessment.

A shunt diverts excess CSF to the abdominal cavity via a permanent tube-valve system and usually stays for life. ETV opens a hole in the floor of the ventricle to make the body's own fluid circulation work again; it leaves no foreign body. A shunt comes to the fore in communicating hydrocephalus and NPH, and ETV in suitable obstructive cases. The method is chosen according to the type of hydrocephalus and the patient.

In most shunted patients the CSF circulation does not recover on its own, so the system is permanent. Even so, the great majority of patients return to school, work and daily life; swimming, walking and cycling are suitable, and only high-impact contact sports and deep diving are not recommended. In cases where ETV is successful, a shunt may not be needed.

NPH is a treatable condition, and with a shunt significant improvement in gait and cognitive function is reported in a substantial proportion of patients; however, the same degree of success cannot be guaranteed in every patient. A 'tap test' can be done before surgery to predict the chance of success. Coming with a gait video and a recent MRI makes the assessment easier.

Patients reach us from across Turkey and abroad. You can send your existing MRI images (and, where NPH is suspected, also a gait video) via WhatsApp (+90 533 075 72 94). If appropriate, you will be invited for an examination; further imaging such as a CSF-flow MRI and a tap test are planned if needed.

In most cases, no. A small, asymptomatic, slow-growing meningioma can be followed with MRI at intervals, especially in older patients. If the tumor grows, causes complaints or compresses, surgery or Gamma Knife comes into consideration. The decision is individual, based on the tumor's size, location and behaviour on follow-up.

The large majority of cases (about four in five) are benign (grade 1) and are not cancer in the classic sense. A smaller proportion behave atypically (grade 2) or malignantly (grade 3). The true grade is confirmed only by pathological examination of the removed tissue.

In some patients, yes. For deep-seated, surgically high-risk or selected small-to-moderate meningiomas, stereotactic radiosurgery can be effective. For large, symptomatic or markedly compressing tumors, however, surgery comes to the fore. The appropriate method is determined by MRI findings and multidisciplinary evaluation.

Yes. Patients reach us from every province of Turkey. You can send your existing MRI or CT images via WhatsApp (+90 533 075 72 94) for a preliminary assessment. If appropriate, you will be invited for an examination and further imaging planned if needed.

Most of the visible mass can be removed, but because glioblastoma spreads microscopically into seemingly healthy tissue, surgery alone is not enough. That is why radiotherapy and chemotherapy are applied as standard after the operation. The higher the proportion of tumor removed, the more favourable the outcome tends to be, but the phrase 'completely cleared' is not realistic for this tumor.

The standard approach is about 6 weeks of radiotherapy after surgery with concurrent oral temozolomide chemotherapy, followed by maintenance temozolomide cycles (Stupp protocol). In selected patients additional options such as TTFields may be considered. The plan is decided in a multidisciplinary board according to pathology and molecular results.

MGMT is a DNA-repair gene. If this gene is silenced (methylated) in the tumor, greater benefit is expected from temozolomide chemotherapy. This test is studied from the tissue taken at surgery and guides both the choice of treatment and realistic expectation.

Yes. Patients reach us from across Turkey and abroad. You can send your existing MRI/CT images and any pathology report via WhatsApp (+90 533 075 72 94) for a preliminary assessment. If appropriate, you will be invited for an examination and multidisciplinary planning.

With multiple metastases, it is usually stereotactic radiosurgery (Gamma Knife, CyberKnife) rather than surgery that comes to the fore; several foci can be targeted in a single session. Surgery is preferred more for single or few, large and symptomatic metastases, or where a tissue diagnosis is needed. The right option is determined by the number, size and location of the metastases and the status of systemic disease.

Gamma Knife (stereotactic radiosurgery) delivers a focused high dose only to the target lesions and largely spares the surrounding healthy brain, with fewer cognitive side effects. Whole-brain radiotherapy irradiates the entire brain and comes into consideration in very widespread disease, but is used more selectively today because of its effects on memory and attention.

This is in most cases part of an advanced-stage cancer, and a guaranteed 'definite cure' cannot be promised. However, modern treatments can effectively relieve symptoms, bring the disease under control and, in selected patients, achieve long-term control. The goal is to manage the disease and preserve quality of life; expectations are discussed separately and openly for each patient.

Yes. Patients reach us from across Turkey and abroad. You can send your existing MRI/CT images and any PET and oncology reports via WhatsApp (+90 533 075 72 94) for a preliminary assessment. If appropriate, you will be invited for an examination and multidisciplinary planning.

This depends on the tumor's grade. A low-grade astrocytoma runs a slow course but is not entirely 'benign' because it can rise in grade over time; a high-grade astrocytoma is aggressive and malignant. The true grade and behaviour become clear only by pathological and molecular examination of tissue taken at surgery or biopsy.

In most cases the widest possible safe surgery is recommended, because the volume of tumor removed favourably affects both seizure control and the course of the disease. In selected very small, asymptomatic cases close MRI follow-up may be considered, but this decision is made multidisciplinarily according to the tumor's location, growth tendency and molecular profile.

The IDH gene status determines the astrocytoma's true type and overall course. IDH-mutant astrocytomas usually run a slower course and fall into a different treatment group; IDH-wildtype tumors behave like glioblastoma. This test is studied from the tissue taken at surgery and determines both the choice of treatment and realistic expectation.

Yes. Patients reach us from across Turkey and abroad. You can send your existing MRI/CT images and any pathology report via WhatsApp (+90 533 075 72 94) for a preliminary assessment. If appropriate, you will be invited for an examination and multidisciplinary planning.

An oligodendroglioma is defined by an IDH mutation and a genetic signature called 1p/19q codeletion, and this profile places it in a group that responds relatively well to radiotherapy-chemotherapy. Its course therefore tends to be more favourable than that of many other gliomas of the same grade. Genetic tests are essential to reveal this difference.

1p/19q codeletion is an indispensable condition for a true oligodendroglioma diagnosis and predicts the response to treatment. Tumors carrying this genetic loss benefit more from radiotherapy and PCV chemotherapy. This test is studied from the tissue taken at surgery and determines both the choice of treatment and realistic expectation.

A seizure is the most common first symptom of an oligodendroglioma, and the underlying tumor usually needs to be treated. In most cases the widest possible safe surgery is recommended; this favourably affects both the course of the disease and seizure control. In some selected cases close follow-up may be considered, but the decision is made multidisciplinarily according to the tumor's grade, location and genetic profile.

Yes. Patients reach us from across Turkey and abroad. You can send your existing MRI/CT images and any pathology report via WhatsApp (+90 533 075 72 94) for a preliminary assessment. If appropriate, you will be invited for an examination and multidisciplinary planning.

No. Most patients with epilepsy live seizure-free on medication and do not need surgery. Surgery is considered for patients whose seizures cannot be controlled despite two appropriate drugs (drug-resistant) and whose seizure focus can be safely identified. Whether you are a candidate is understood only after a comprehensive evaluation.

In some patient groups, especially mesial temporal sclerosis and single-lesion epilepsy, the chance of long-term seizure freedom is high. But this is not a guarantee; in multifocal or widespread epilepsy the goal is often not complete freedom but a meaningful reduction in seizure frequency. Expectations are shared with you individually after evaluation.

Medications are not stopped immediately after surgery. After a period of observed seizure freedom, the team may plan a gradual reduction; some patients continue a low dose. Any change in medication is always made under the supervision of a neurologist.

Yes. Patients reach us from across Turkey and abroad. You can send your existing MRI, EEG and any video-EEG reports via WhatsApp (+90 533 075 72 94) for a preliminary assessment. If appropriate, a comprehensive epilepsy surgery evaluation is planned.

Almost always medication first. Drugs such as carbamazepine/oxcarbazepine provide marked initial relief in most patients. Surgical and interventional methods come into play when medication is insufficient or its side effects cannot be tolerated. Starting directly with surgery is not appropriate except in exceptional situations.

MVD is an operation that directly eliminates the vascular compression causing the pain and provides the longest-lasting relief in suitable patients, but it is a procedure requiring general anaesthesia. Gamma Knife is an incision-free, single-session radiation treatment; it is less invasive but its effect begins later and the recurrence rate is higher. Which is appropriate is determined by age, general condition and MRI findings.

It can. No method guarantees lifelong, definitive freedom from pain. MVD has the lowest recurrence rate in suitable patients; Gamma Knife and percutaneous methods carry a higher chance of recurrence. If pain recurs, treatment can be repeated or a different method chosen.

Yes. Patients reach us from across Turkey and abroad. You can send your thin-slice (trigeminal-protocol) MRI images via WhatsApp (+90 533 075 72 94) for a preliminary assessment. If appropriate, you will be invited for an examination and further imaging planned if needed.

No. Vestibular schwannoma is almost always a benign (non-cancerous) tumour and does not spread to other parts of the body. Its danger comes from being able to press on the facial nerve, the hearing-balance nerve and the brainstem as it grows. Being benign makes it possible to avoid haste in treatment.

Not necessarily. In small, asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic tumours a 'wait and scan' approach is a valid strategy; the tumour is followed with MRI at set intervals. Many small tumours remain stable for years. However, follow-up must be regular; if the tumour begins to grow, Gamma Knife or surgery comes into play.

There is no single right answer; the choice depends on tumour size, growth rate, hearing status and age. In small-to-medium tumours Gamma Knife is a non-surgical option with a high chance of preserving hearing. In large tumours pressing on the brainstem, microsurgery is the priority. The decision is made individually.

Yes. Patients reach us from across Turkey and abroad. You can send your contrast-enhanced internal-auditory-canal (acoustic-protocol) MRI images and, if available, your audiometry (hearing test) result via WhatsApp (+90 533 075 72 94) for a preliminary assessment. If appropriate, you will be invited for an examination.

No. Almost all pituitary adenomas are benign and do not spread through the body. Their importance comes from being able to disrupt the body's balance by secreting hormones, or to press on the optic nerves as they grow. The word 'tumour' does not always mean malignant.

No. Prolactin-secreting adenomas (prolactinoma) in particular are mostly controlled with medication, without surgery — even when large. Surgery comes into play in other hormone-secreting tumours that do not respond to medication and in non-functional tumours causing visual loss. The right decision is made after the hormone profile and MRI are assessed together.

Mostly no. The modern standard is the transsphenoidal method, reached endoscopically through the nostrils; the skull is not opened, no external scar remains and recovery is shorter. Only in selected, very large or extensive tumours may different approaches be needed.

Yes. Patients reach us from across Turkey and abroad. You can send your pituitary-protocol MRI images, hormone blood tests and, if available, your visual-field test via WhatsApp (+90 533 075 72 94) for a preliminary assessment. If appropriate, you will be invited for an examination.

No. A cavernoma is a low-pressure, slow-flow tangle of vessels and, when it bleeds, usually causes a small, limited haemorrhage. An aneurysm is a balloon in a high-pressure artery and, when it ruptures, causes sudden, large and potentially fatal bleeding. The risk, follow-up and treatment of the two are entirely different.

Mostly no. Cavernomas that have never bled, cause no symptoms, and especially lie in a deep or critical region are generally followed with regular MRI, because the risk of surgery may exceed the lesion's bleeding risk. Surgery comes into play in cavernomas that re-bleed, cause drug-resistant seizures or produce progressive symptoms.

Generally no. Unlike an aneurysm, because cavernomas are low-pressure structures they are not suitable for endovascular (catheter) treatment. The treatment options are surveillance or removal by microsurgery; the role of Gamma Knife is limited and controversial and it is not routinely recommended.

Yes. Patients reach us from across Turkey and abroad. You can send your MRI images including the special sequences for cavernoma (gradient echo / SWI) via WhatsApp (+90 533 075 72 94) for a preliminary assessment. If appropriate, you will be invited for an examination and further imaging planned if needed.