Removal of meningioma

Meningioma resection means surgery to remove a meningioma. The route used to reach the tumour can differ with its position and the surrounding anatomy. For example, in a patient with a tumour at the front of the skull base, surgeons used an opening in the skull near the eye and temple on the opposite side to reach the tumour while preserving nearby nerves and blood vessels. Fluorescence-guided surgery is another technique studied in meningioma removal: a substance called 5-aminolevulinic acid helps make tumour tissue visible during surgery.

The relationship between a tumour and nearby structures can change the surgical plan. In one patient with a meningioma near the nerves responsible for smell, an unusually large air-filled area in the skull-base bone obstructed the planned route from one side. Surgeons changed to an opening involving both sides of the forehead to reach the tumour. In a separate patient whose tumour compressed a vein and caused swelling, surgeons chose a route from the opposite side to avoid a broader opening across the forehead. These examples illustrate choices between surgical routes, rather than a comparison of surgery with treatment without an operation.

Results include both tumour removal and how a person functions afterwards. In a 2026 report of one patient with a meningioma at the front of the skull base, a postoperative MRI scan showed complete removal and resolution of swelling; neurological function was intact at the five-week follow-up. A separate 2026 study examined 592 patients treated at one hospital between 2009 and 2024, focusing on whether they needed help with daily activities six weeks after surgery. Tumour location, larger tumour size, dependence before surgery and other medical conditions were associated with a greater likelihood of needing help. These findings do not establish an individual patient’s chance of complete removal or recovery.

Seizures can occur after meningioma surgery. A 2024 randomized trial followed 600 people having surgery for meningiomas in the upper part of the brain. Within seven days, seizures occurred in 13 of 300 patients given tranexamic acid, a medicine used to reduce bleeding, and 11 of 300 given a saline placebo. The trial found no significant difference in blood loss, although a separate 2024 review pooling four studies involving 781 patients reported less blood loss with the medicine. Other reported complications include headache and leakage of cerebrospinal fluid, the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord. Loss of smell occurred in the patient whose skull-base anatomy required a changed surgical route.

Hospital recovery varies. A 2026 study of 99 patients who had meningioma surgery at one hospital in the Bronx between 2018 and 2023 reported a median hospital stay of six days. Bleeding inside the skull after surgery and pneumonia were associated with a longer stay. Early recovery can also involve headache: a 2026 study of 128 patients compared two nursing positions with the head of the bed raised, and found lower headache scores on days three and seven in the group with a slightly higher position. Postoperative assessment can include imaging and checks of neurological function, as in the patient whose MRI confirmed tumour removal and whose neurological function was assessed five weeks after surgery.