• Nader Hejrati, Derek Spieler, Robin Samuel, Luca Regli, Astrid Weyerbrock, and Werner Surbeck.
• Department of Neurosurgery, Cantonal Hospital St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland; Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
• World Neurosurg. 2019 Sep 1; 129: e381-e386.

BackgroundExperiencing cranial surgery under awake conditions may expose patients to considerable psychological strain.MethodsThis study aimed to investigate the occurrence and course of psychological sequelae following awake craniotomy (AC) for brain tumors in a series of 20 patients using a broad, validated psychological assessment preoperatively, intraoperatively, postoperatively and a standardized follow-up of 3 months. In addition, the association of the preoperative psychological condition (including, but not limited to, anxiety and fear) with perioperative pain perception and interference was assessed.ResultsAC did not induce any shift in the median levels of anxiety, depression, and stress symptoms already present prior to the procedure. Furthermore, anxiety and depression were all moderately to strongly associated over time (all P < 0.05). Stress symptoms also correlated positively over all times of measurement. Stress 3 days after surgery was strongly associated with stress 3 months after surgery (P < 0.001), whereas the correlation between preoperative and immediate postoperative stress showed a statistical trend (P = 0.07). Preoperative fear was not related to intraoperative pain, but to pain and its interference with daily activity on the third postoperative day (P < 0.001 and P < 0.01, respectively).ConclusionsPostoperative psychological symptoms clearly correlated with their corresponding preoperative symptoms. Thus, mental health was not negatively affected by the AC experience in our series. Intraoperative fear and pain were not related to the preoperative psychological condition. However, preoperative fear and anxiety were positively related with pain and its interference with daily activity in the immediate postoperative period.Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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