Maxillofacial and brain surgeries and stress response

Abstract

Despite significant improvement in diagnostic and therapeutic technology over the past decades, mortality rates after cancer surgery (including brain tumor resection) remains high. Perioperative stress on the nervous system and the resultant central nervous system (CNS) changes are likely to be causative for altered behaviors that are seen postoperatively, including chronic pain, posttraumatic stress disorder, and learning difficulties. Improving the ability of the anesthesiologist to control all four components of acute perioperative stress could potentially reduce the negative impact of surgery on the brain.