Brain Surgery Specialist
-
- Tweet
Cerebrum MD
Joseph Watson, MD
Board Certified Neurosurgeon located in Tyson's Corner, Vienna, VA
Learning you need brain surgery is an overwhelming and emotional challenge that forces you to make difficult decisions. As you navigate this journey, you can count on Joseph Watson, MD, at Cerebrum MD in Northern Virginia and Greater DC area. Dr. Watson understands your stress because he’s worked closely with many patients over the years. More importantly, Dr. Watson has an exceptional reputation for his skill, expertise, and success as a brain surgeon. If you face decisions about brain surgery, call the office today.
Brain Surgery Q & A
When might I need brain surgery?
Before recommending brain surgery, Dr. Watson considers a wide range of variables. He determines if the problem is located in an area of your brain where surgery is possible without causing too much damage to healthy brain tissues.
Dr. Watson also evaluates issues such as whether the problem is localized to one small area or spread throughout your brain, and the severity of the problem.
For example, he may monitor a benign tumor that’s small, slow-growing, and not causing symptoms before recommending surgery.
Many brain conditions require surgery to diagnose, remove, or repair the problem, such as:
- Meningiomas
- Pituitary gland tumors
- Bleeding in the brain
- Brain infections
- Brain aneurysm
- Arteriovenous malformations
- Cavernous malformations
- Trigeminal neuralgia
- Pressure in the brain
- Parkinson’s disease
- Hydrocephalus
Whenever possible, malignant tumors are surgically removed. Brain surgery is also needed when benign tumors cause serious symptoms or damage vital tissues.
How is brain surgery performed?
As an expert in brain surgery, Dr. Watson has extensive experience performing numerous conventional and innovative surgical techniques.
He’s well known for a technique called subpial dissection that preserves the blood vessels, arteries, and veins in and around brain tumors. This technique prevents a stroke, one of the potential complications of brain surgery.
A few types of brain surgery frequently performed by the Cerebrum MD team include:
- Extended bifrontal craniotomy
- Keyhole craniotomy
- Eyebrow craniotomy
- Orbitozygomatic craniotomy
- Translabyrinthine craniotomy
- Endonasal endoscopy
- MRI-guided laser ablation
- Minimally invasive neuroendoscopy
Your brain surgery is performed using one of several types of imaging, such as intraoperative MRI, optical fluorescence imaging, and neuronavigation. These techniques create real-time and highly detailed images of the brain to guide your procedure.
What should I expect after brain surgery?
The amount of time you spend in the hospital depends on variables such as the type of procedure used during your surgery, the area of the brain affected, and your age and overall health. However, you should expect to stay at least 2-5 days.
Dr. Watson and the Cerebrum MD team closely monitor your recovery in the hospital, as well as your rehabilitation after you’re discharged.
Rehabilitation from brain surgery requires a comprehensive health care team because you may need treatment such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, or speech language therapy.
If you have questions about a neurological condition or brain surgery, call Cerebrum MD.
