Craniotomy in the Patient with Glioblastoma: A Case Report

Glioblastomas represent a unique challenge to anesthesia providers. They are an aggressive form of malignant tumors often causing change in the patient's ICP, blood flow and cerebral autoregulation. Grade IV glioblastomas accounts for 30% of all primary brain tumors and are more common between males 50-70 years old.1 Resection alone is usually inadequate because of microscopic invasion of tumor cells within the brain tissue.1 Treatment is generally a combination of chemotherapy, radiation and surgical debulking. Despite treatment, life expectancy can be measured in weeks and aim is towards palliative care.1