Expert: Claes-Gustaf Nordquist, M.D. - 1/15/2008

Question
QUESTION: my father died june 30 2007 from post op complications from the removal of an anplastic oligo in the right temporal lobe area. the first surgery took place on march 16 2007. he hemorrhaged after first surgery and also hemorrhage 2 more times. my dad also required surgery for a vre abscess in surgical area as well as surgeries for a ventricular drain and then a shunt. the dr. never told us a grade or size of tumor. i found that out through medical records. the medical records refer to the size of area where they took out tumor as being 13 cm. i have been trying to find info on the web about anaplastic oligo. that measures 13 cm to no avail. am i miss reading or can a brain tumor be that large? if so what would be effects of removal? thank you for any info you may be able to help with.

ANSWER: That does indeed seem a bit big! I've never seen anything like that! But in order to be on the safe side, check it one more time!
The size is most probably not impossible but at least very uncommon!


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: after your response, i recheck the medical records. the exact wording is as follows "the patient has a very broad craniectomy on the right side. this spans a region measuring approximately 13.3 cm in dimension".after my dad had the stunt in and the fluid that collected on the right side drained away,the right side of his head would sink in until it was about midway of the head(even with nose). there was no bone flap so when you looked at him it was most shocking,there basically was no right side of his head.they also note in different parts of records a subfalcine herniation from rt-lt ranging measurements are 6-8mm up to 10-13mm.i also wanted to add that my dad was 56 yrs old when he died and original dx of a low graded was given in 1994. he had that tumor removed from rt temporal lobe in aug. 1994.can you tell me any effects of removal of a tumor that is the size of the tumor that reoccurred in mar. 2007. thank you for all of your help.

Answer
Aha, so he was first diagnosed in 1994! Well it was MOST probably a very low grade tumor then, since he survived so many years (probably a I (1)). However brain tumors CAN degenerate from a low grade to a high grade tumor with a bad prognosis! Actually your description does not tell us anything about the size of his tumor. It only tells us how big a hole they had to make in his skull. That only tells us that his surgery was difficult. That is all that can be told. If at that time it had changed to a high grade brain tumor his prognosis was unfortunately hopeless!