Hemispherectomy: When Less Brain Means More Life
- incisionary
- Jul 26, 2025
- 2 min read
The brain is one of the most complex organs found in the human body. It is responsible for regulating bodily processes, such as thought, memory, emotion, touch, motor skills, vision, breathing, temperature, and hunger (Johns Hopkins Medicine, 2025). However, in some cases of severe neurological disorders, a hemispherectomy – removing or disabling one of the brain’s hemispheres – may be a patient’s last option. Choosing this surgery could even dramatically improve their life.
According to Lew (2014), a hemispherectomy is a surgery involving the removal (anatomical hemispherectomy) or functional disconnection (functional hemispherectomy) of a cerebral hemisphere (half of the brain). The first reported hemispherectomies were performed in the late 1920s and early 1930s for gliomas (US HealthConnect, n.d.). A notable hemispherectomy conducted by Dr. K.G. McKenzie involved a 16-year-old patient with traumatic brain injury at three weeks of age, leading to more neurological disorders. The surgery was successful in abating the seizures, which led to more children and adolescents undergoing hemispherectomies for epilepsy. According to the Cleveland Clinic (2024), there are two types of hemispherectomies:
Functional (disconnective): This technique involves removing a smaller area of the brain and disconnecting the affected hemisphere from the healthy side.
Anatomic: This is done when a patient suffers from persistent seizures even after a functional hemispherectomy. In this surgery, the frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes of the brain are removed.
According to UCLAHealth (n.d.), some specific patients are appropriate for a hemispherectomy, especially very young patients who have severe epilepsy or spasms only affecting half of the brain and not responding to medications. This surgery is most effective for children under two years old, as their developing brains have greater neuroplasticity – the ability to rewire themselves. While this procedure can be done on older children, their chances of neurological recovery are typically lower than those of younger patients.
According to the Cleveland Clinic (2024), most children have excellent long-term results following a hemispherectomy. However, occasionally, some complications or adverse effects may occur, such as:
Blood loss or bleeding into the empty cavity
Electrolyte changes
Hypothermia
Aseptic Meningitis
Infections
Hydrocephalus (fluid build-up in the brain)
In conclusion, though it may be radical, a hemispherectomy is a life-saving procedure that can help children who suffer from extreme brain disorders, with astounding results. This gives children a chance at an everyday life, which they wouldn’t have had otherwise. This surgery demonstrates the brain’s incredible ability to adapt, showing that less can indeed be more.
Written by Sophia Perez at Incisionary
APA References
myUpchar. (2011, January 28). Hemispherectomy: Procedure, Purpose, Results, Cost, Price. myUpchar Digital Hospital. https://www.myupchar.com/en/surgery/hemispherectomy#google_vignette. Retrieved on July 26, 2025.
Johns Hopkins Medicine. (2025, April 4). Brain Anatomy and How the Brain Works. Johns Hopkins Medicine. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/anatomy-of-the-brain. Retrieved on July 26, 2025.
Lew, S.M. (2014, July 31). Hemispherectomy in the treatment of seizures: a review. PubMed, 3(3), 208-217. https://doi.org/10.3978/j.issn.2224-4336.2014.04.01. Retrieved on July 26, 2025.
US HealthConnect. (n.d.). Epilepsy Essentials: Hemispherectomy for Early-Onset Pediatric Epilepsy: A big Surgery for Small people. Practical Neurology. https://practicalneurology.com/diseases-diagnoses/epilepsy-seizures/epilepsy-essentials-hemispherectomy-for-early-onset-pediatric-epilepsy-a-big-surgery-for-small-people/32031/#:~:text=The%20first%20reported%20hemispherectomies%20were,resection%20to%20address%20the%20disorder.
Cleveland Clinic (2024, November 4). Hemispherectomy: What It Is, Procedure, and Side Effects. Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/procedures/17092-hemispherectomy. Retrieved on July 26, 2025.
UCLAHealth. (n.d.). Hemispherectomy. UCLA Health. https://www.uclahealth.org/medical-services/pediatric-neurosurgery/conditions-treatment/pediatric-epilepsy-surgery/epilepsy-treatment/hemispherectomy. Retrieved on July 26, 2025.
Comments