Share this on:Copied!

Many people leave the hospital a week to 10 days after brain surgery. Some have shorter stays; some have longer stays. However, the recovery period is much longer. Returning to work or feeling up to hobbies and social activities may take you many months.

Here’s what you can expect as you heal from brain surgery and our tips for a smoother recovery.

Healing After Brain Surgery: What to Expect

The effects of brain surgery will depend on many factors, like your age, what part of your brain underwent surgery, your other medical history, and more. For example, if the surgeon operates on the left side of your brain, you may have coordination challenges on the right side. If the surgery affected a brain area that’s important for speaking, you may find you have some difficulty saying what you mean.

Brain surgery may cause one or more of the following effects:

• Balance challenges.
• Changes in your ability to focus.
• Confusion.
• Coordination issues or trouble walking.
• Difficulty reading or writing.
• Hearing changes.
• Memory loss.
• Mood changes.
• Muscle weakness.
• Problems with speaking or understanding.
• Vision changes.
• Continued pain and headache.

Some effects from brain surgery may not show up until weeks, months, or, in rare cases, years after surgery. Your neurology team will meet with you several times after your surgery to discuss your recovery and rehabilitation plan. If you notice changes related to your brain surgery, let your care team know immediately.

What to Expect with Post-Brain Surgery Rehabilitation

Depending on your challenges, your care team will create a recovery plan for you. Your rehab specialists may include one or more of the following:

• An eye doctor — To diagnose and treat vision problems.
• A hearing professional — To assess and treat hearing problems.
• An occupational therapist — To teach you how to perform any daily activity you struggle with, such as cooking, writing, or getting dressed.
• A psychotherapist — To help with feelings of sadness, anger, frustration, or anxiety that you may experience after brain surgery.
• A physical therapist — To help you with balance and mobility and decrease muscle pain and stiffness.
• A speech therapist – To support you with speech, language, and swallowing difficulties.
• A neurologist – Depending upon your diagnosis and surgery, you may require the continued support of a neurology specialist.

It may take weeks or months for you to recover from brain surgery completely. Some people also experience permanent changes after brain surgery.

If this happens, your therapist will help you adjust to these permanent changes. Assistive speaking or hearing technology, tools to help with memory, organization apps, and other supports can help you lead a full life.

Does your skull heal after brain surgery?

In most cases, the surgeon will remove a piece of skull for brain surgery and put it back after surgery. The doctor may wait several weeks or even months to reconstruct the skull to give time for the brain swelling to reduce. It will be stored in a sterile manner at the hospital until needed.

When the bone is back in place, it’ll fuse with the rest of the skull. This process can take several months.

Sometimes, doctors can’t replace the removed part of the skull. Instead, they use a metal plate, a bone from another part of the body, or synthetic material.

Tips for Recovering from Brain Surgery

The best way to recover from surgery is to push yourself, but not too hard. You also want to focus on eating and sleeping well.

Follow your recovery plan

As with any recovery, the connections in your brain will happen faster if you exercise as often as your therapist says. Engaging with friends and loved ones who support you will also help. The brain responds strongly to social stimulation.

You don’t want to push yourself too fast, but you should take on more challenges as you improve. Your therapists will help you to do more and more as you progress. For example, you may start with one-on-one conversations and move to engaging in group settings as you improve.

Choose healing foods after brain surgery

Just like any other part of your body, your brain needs nutrients to heal. Experts advise people who have had an injury to the brain to consume diets rich in:

• Fiber (found in whole grains and vegetables).
• Lean proteins (like lean meats, legumes, and tofu).
• Fruits and vegetables – Different fruits and vegetables contain different vitamins, so you should eat a variety.
• Do not avoid all fats, as these are critical in the development/recovery of nerve tissue.

Research has shown omega-3 fatty acids help the brain heal after injury. Foods that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids include:

• Avocados.
• Flaxseed.
• Nuts — Walnuts and pecans are especially high in omega 3 fatty acids.
• Olive oil.
• Salmon, trout, sardines, and other types of fish. (Avoid fish that may have higher mercury levels, including king mackerel, orange roughy, bigeye tuna, marlin, tilefish, swordfish, and shark.)

Experts suggest you limit foods linked to poor health, including:

• Highly processed foods.
• Saturated fats (found in fried foods, dairy products, and red meat)
• Sugary foods and drinks.

Protect your sleep

Though your body is resting, the brain makes important connections during sleep. Getting good sleep helps with memory, concentration, mood, and more.

Here are some tips to help you get consistent sleep:

• Don’t consume caffeine (from coffee or tea) eight hours before bed.
• Get outside during the day and exercise, such as going for a walk or using an exercise bike. This will help you feel tired.

• Go to bed at the same time every day.

• Wind down before bed. Avoid screens at least an hour before bed, and do a relaxing activity.
• Turn off all screens within an hour of sleep.

Remember that healing from brain surgery takes time

You may find that some days are more challenging than others. You may feel as if you’re going “backward” at times. Rest assured, you’re improving in the long term, even if it feels sometimes like you aren’t.

Your therapists can give you a timeline for your recovery and let you know whether a full recovery is likely. However, everyone is different, so your recovery timeline may be shorter or longer than expected.

Some people may experience signs and symptoms of depression, which are not limited to feelings or mood, but can manifest in appetite or sleep changes.