What to expect after brain surgery: Patients and a neurosurgeon share insights
January 23, 2026
Medically Reviewed | Last reviewed by Sherise Ferguson, M.D., on January 23, 2026
Are some side effects common to everyone after brain surgery? For instance, can you expect to experience some combination of memory lapses, balance problems, personality changes and/or trouble with your speech?
We went to neurosurgeon Sherise Ferguson, M.D., and four patients who’ve had brain surgery for answers. Here’s what they shared with us.
Expect your side effects to be unique
The first thing to know about brain surgery is that every procedure is unique — and as distinctive as a fingerprint. Each part of the brain controls something different, too. So, there’s no way to accurately predict how yours might be affected.
“It really depends on the size and location of the tumor and the way we approach it,” Ferguson explains. “If a lesion is near a part of the brain that controls motor function, then you could have trouble with movement afterward. If it’s near a part that controls speech, then you might have issues with language comprehension or word retrieval. There are no universal side effects.”
Hannah Kahn, a commercial furniture salesperson who was 32 when she was diagnosed with astrocytoma, says her biggest side effect was muscle weakness.
“My tumor was on the motor strip affecting my left side, so the surgeon warned me that I would likely feel weak,” she recalls. “But I was so weak that I’d sometimes even drop my phone. I slowly regained my strength on that side by holding items while seated and squeezing a stress ball while watching TV.”
Expect things to possibly get weird
Nausea and fatigue are fairly common after any procedure involving general anesthesia. Brain surgeries are no exception. But don’t be alarmed if some of your side effects seem really unusual.
“Lying on the couch and resting or even sitting up straight felt very unnatural for a while,” says Josiah Mihok, a podcaster from Georgia who was 28 when he was diagnosed with astrocytoma.
Brain surgery can also cause seizures, though the risk is low and medications are available to manage them. “Any time you touch the brain and irritate it,” notes Ferguson, “seizures are a possibility.”
Key takeaways
- There are no universal side effects after brain surgery, so expect yours to be unique.
- Side effects after brain surgery may also seem weird or unusual.
- You may need rehab after brain surgery to regain lost ground.
Expect to need rehab to regain lost ground
Patients who already have functional deficits in certain areas before surgery — such as leg weakness or speech difficulties — will likely need some sort of rehabilitation afterward to regain them.
“These deficits might not go away immediately,” notes Ferguson, “particularly if there is temporary swelling at the surgical site. The weaker someone is before surgery, the longer the recovery. So, how long it takes to ‘feel normal’ again is not really an answerable question.”
The healing process may also involve new tools and strategies to regain lost ground. That was the case for Sean O’Brien, a 32-year-old copywriter from New York who was only 19 at the time of his astrocytoma diagnosis.
“I didn’t really have any functional memory after my operation, so it took a while to train it back to where it is now,” he explains. “Even today, if there are more than three things I need to remember, I have to write them down.”
Practical tips for before and after surgery
A few of our patients shared advice for ways to make your life easier — both before and after brain surgery.
“Go ahead and shave your entire head,” suggests Curry Kennerly, a Houston building inspector who was 47 at the time of his benign epidermoid cyst diagnosis. “Everybody wants to come visit you afterwards, but the surgeons only shave off the parts they need. My hair looked pretty silly and ugly afterwards, so I wish I had just shaved it off.”
“A lot of people are going to reach out and ask if they can help you,” adds Josiah. “Lean into that instead of shying away. Take advantage of the fact that you get to ask for things now and don’t feel bad about it.”
Request an appointment at MD Anderson online or call 1-877-632-6789.
There are no universal side effects.
Sherise Ferguson, M.D.
Physician