For many patients, the idea of brain surgery can be scary. This may be especially true if the area being treated is near parts of the brain that control sight, motor skills or speech. Preserving function is what prompted neurosurgeons at Mayo Clinic to perform what's called awake brain surgery. With this surgery, the patient is awake and talking during part of the procedure, so the surgeon knows he or she is safely performing the operation.
In this Mayo Clinic Minute, reporter Vivien Williams talks to Dr. Bernard Bendok about awake brain surgery.
Journalists: Broadcast-quality video pkg (:59) is in the downloads. Read the script.