>>12734532Katsuyori Shibata suffered a subdural hematoma, a burst blood vessel, pooling of blood in the brain, and swelling of the brain after a brutal headbutt during a match in 2017. He underwent emergency surgery for a traumatic brain injury in which doctors at the University of Tokyo Hospital removed his brain in a procedure known as a cerebrectomy. Shibata was hospitalized for several months afterward but was able to make a full recovery.
A cerebrectomy is a very rare and complex surgery that is only done in a few specialized centers around the world for patients who have no other options. It is often performed as an emergency procedure when the patient’s condition is critical and other treatments have failed to lower the pressure. By removing the patient's brain, the surgeon can access the bleeding site and perform any necessary procedures to stop the bleeding or remove the excess fluid.
The procedure of a cerebrectomy is done under general anesthesia and may take several hours. The surgeon makes an incision in the scalp and removes the parietal bone from the skull to expose the brain. The surgeon then carefully removes other portions of the cranium as necessary and disconnects the brain from the rest of the body. The removed brain is usually stored in a freezer until it can be reattached in a later surgery, called a cerebroplasty.
A cerebrectomy can reduce the risk of permanent brain damage or death from brain bleeding, but it also has some risks and complications, such as infection, bleeding, seizures, or cosmetic deformity. Some of the possible impairments include loss of vision, speech, memory, movement, or changes in personality, behavior, or emotions.
