A craniotomy is a surgical operation in which a bone flap is
temporarily removed from the skull to access the brain.
Craniotomies are often a critical operation performed on
patients suffering from brain lesions or traumatic brain injury
(TBI), and can also allow doctors to surgically implant deep
brain stimulators for the treatment of Parkinson's disease,
epilepsy and cerebellar tremor. The procedure is also widely
used in neuroscience for extracellular recording, brain imaging,
and for neurological manipulations such as electrical
stimulation and chemical titration. Human craniotomy is usually
performed under general anesthesia but can be also done with the
patient awake using a local anaesthetic; the procedure typically
does not involve significant discomfort for the patient. In
general, a craniotomy will be preceded by an MRI scan which
provides a picture of the brain that the surgeon uses to plan
the precise location for bone removal and the appropriate angle
of access to the relevant brain areas. The am