“Should all brain tumors be removed in children?”
My 7-year-old son has a brain tumor, but after a biopsy we found out that it's benign. His neurosurgeon wants us to have it removed anyway, but the tumor isn't really large and we don't want him to go through a surgery like that. Not at this age. We don't know what we should do. Should all brain tumors be removed, even if they're benign?
3 Answers
As a general rule, yes, most brain tumors should be removed if their size and location do not pose too great a risk for the patients.
The decision is based on the risk of growth and the location of the mass. If it can be monitored then the decision is to choose how often the scans have to be done.
No. With MRIs available, benign tumors in benign locations can be followed.
