Management of Aphasia Secondary to a Brain Tumor Resection and Postoperative Stroke: A Case Report

Purpose: This case report describes the assessment and treatment of a unique patient with evolving aphasia secondary to brain tumor resection and postoperative stroke in acute and inpatient rehabilitation settings. The purpose of this article is to add to the scarcity of literature describing language disorders and language therapy in patients with brain tumors. Method: The patient was a 35-year-old man who presented with postoperative aphasia after gross total resection of a World Health Organization Grade I ganglioma and left posterior cerebral artery (PCA) infarct. Formal and informal language assessments were completed, including the Western Aphasia Battery-Bedside Screener–Revised and the Western Aphasia Battery–Revised (WAB-R). The treatment was delivered over 16 sessions, five times per week, and focused on verbal expression, auditory comprehension, reading comprehension, and communication strategy training. Evidence-based therapy techniques were applied, including the Verb Network Strengthening Treatment and conversational coaching. Incorporation of neuroplasticity principles into language therapy is described. Results: The patient demonstrated improvement in language skills on the standardized assessment WAB-R after 2 weeks of intensive language therapy compared to baseline. The patient's aphasia evolved from moderate-to-severe transcortical sensory aphasia (TSA; aphasia quotient [AQ] = 52.9/100) to mild-to-moderate anomic aphasia (AQ = 76.7/100). The patient's recovery was consistent with the expected evolution of both postoperative recovery from a brain tumor and TSA. Conclusions: This case describes the assessment and treatment of a patient with aphasia after brain tumor resection and left PCA stroke. It adds to the scarcity of literature describing tumor-related language disorders and language therapy to further refine clinical practices and lead to better patient outcomes.