Question

After suffering from vision problems, Anne, a 34-year-old woman, has been diagnosed with a meningioma in the cerebellum. She is scheduled for surgery and, understandably, she is concerned and wants to know what will happen. What information might help Anne cope?

Answer 1

It is obvious that any patient who is about to undergo a surgery will be anxious about its outcome. Here, 34 year old, Anne is also having the same concerns. It is the nurse's responsibility to answer to the concerns of the patient and to perpare them for the surgery.

Here, Anne should be told about the procedure that she will be undergoing and also about the prognosis which is already explained to her by the doctor.Tell  Anne that the surgery will remove as much of the tumor as possible. Also let her know that, post surgery she might experience pain and  edema( due to fluid accumulation in head) which is normal and medications will be administered for its management. Antiseizure medications will also be administerted to her and the medication will be slowly discontinued if siezure doesn't occur, as there is increased chance for development of seizure after surgery in some patients. There are also chances that she might develop some neurologic problem, such as muscle weakness, speech problems or difficulty with coordination and most of the times these symptoms go away after a few weeks. Let her know that post surgery she will be under close observation to detect any possible complications and also to prevent any infection.If in case the tumor is only partially removed, there is also an option of radiation therapy which will be initiated once she is fully recovered from the surgery. Reassure the patient by saying her that the prognosis is generally good with surgery and she will experience her symptoms subsided.