Awake Craniotomy for a Left Pan-Hippocampal Diffuse Low-Grade Glioma in a Deaf and Mute Patient Using Sign Language

Awake craniotomy is becoming an essential technique, especially for intrinsic brain tumors which have no clear margins and where extent of resection (EOR) matters. However, intraoperative monitoring for awaken patients requires voice feedback in regular settings. Resection of hippocampal glioma is challenging because of its deep-seated location, its extension in an anterior-posterior axis, and being covered with eloquent cortex. We present a native deaf and mute patient, who has been diagnosed of a left pan-hippocampal glioma, who underwent an awake craniotomy using sign language during intraoperative monitoring.

The patient was a 58-year-old, right-handed, native deaf and mute woman who was diagnosed with a left pan-hippocampal glioma. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed an intrinsic, nonenhanced, expansile lesion involving the pan-hippocampus. Functional MRI preferred a right hemisphere-dominant pattern. Neuropsychologic testing was normal. An awake craniotomy was successfully performed using sign language to preserve her remaining sole method of communication. A standard sleep-awake-sleep protocol with a transmiddle temporal gyrus (2.5 × 1 cm gyrectomy) approach was performed after a negative mapping result. More than 90% EOR was achieved with only a 0.7 cm³ residual tumor at the hippocampal tail. The pathology was anaplastic ganglioglioma, Ki-67 70%, and World Health Organization grade III. Her postoperative neuropsychologic status was the same as preoperative condition.

We demonstrated using sign language for intraoperative monitoring is feasible in a native deaf and mute patient. We also showed a navigation-assisted minimal transcortical approach to achieve >90% EOR for a pan-hippocampal glioma in a single-stage operation.