Preoperative Mapping
Preoperative Mapping helps physicians plan brain tumor surgery using advanced tools such as navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), connectomics and fluorescence-guided surgery to support safer, more precise treatment.
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Brain & Spine Tumors
We have decades of experience caring for patients with brain & spine tumors, pioneering minimally invasive treatments and leading research for new treatments to improve patient outcomes.
What Is Preoperative Mapping?
Preoperative mapping is a group of advanced planning and surgical support techniques used before and during brain tumor surgery. These tools help physicians understand how a tumor relates to important brain areas that control movement, language and other functions.
Preoperative Mapping may include navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (navigated TMS), connectomics and fluorescence-guided surgery. Together, these approaches can help the care team plan a more precise operation and work to protect healthy brain tissue whenever possible.
Why Choose Baptist Health?
Baptist Health Brain & Spine Care provides coordinated care for people who need evaluation and treatment for brain and spine conditions. For patients who may need preoperative mapping, care often involves a multidisciplinary team that can include neurosurgeons, neurologists, neuroradiologists, neuro-oncologists and rehabilitation specialists.
Baptist Health focuses on careful treatment planning, clear communication and personalized recommendations based on each patient’s diagnosis, symptoms and imaging results. When advanced mapping is appropriate, it is used to help physicians better understand the safest path forward.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Preoperative mapping is used to help plan brain tumor surgery. It gives physicians more information about the tumor’s location and its relationship to important brain areas, which can support a safer and more precise surgical approach.
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No. Preoperative mapping is not a surgery by itself. It refers to tests and planning tools used before and during an operation to guide treatment decisions and help the surgeon protect brain function when possible.
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Navigated TMS is a noninvasive mapping technique that uses magnetic pulses on the scalp to identify parts of the brain involved in movement and sometimes language. The results are matched with imaging to support surgical planning.
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Connectomics is the study of how different parts of the brain connect and communicate. In surgical planning, it may help physicians understand important brain networks and pathways that should be considered before removing a tumor.
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Fluorescence-guided surgery uses a special agent that can make some tumor tissue glow under certain surgical lighting. This may help the surgeon better see selected tumor tissue during an operation.
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Patients may be considered when a brain tumor is close to areas that control movement, speech or other important functions. Candidacy depends on the tumor type, location, symptoms and the overall treatment plan.
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It may help physicians better understand the safest way to approach surgery, but it does not remove all risk. Every brain tumor and every operation is different, so the care team will explain the expected benefits and limits for each patient.
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Recovery is tied more to the surgery itself than to the mapping process. It can vary widely based on the tumor location, the type of procedure performed and whether rehabilitation or additional treatment is needed.
Pioneering The Cures Of Tomorrow
Our researchers play a vital role in helping us better understand brain and spine disease. They participate in a wide variety of clinical trials dedicated to improving treatments that will ultimately lead to better patient outcomes. Learn more about their work and what it means to be involved in a clinical trial.
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