For a craniotomy they don't typically shave your whole head and instead shave part of your head.
After the craniotomy operation the hair that was shaved will grow back where it was shaved.
The side effects of a craniotomy are.
Trouble breathing, anxiety, chest pain, change in mental status.
Trouble with speech and weakness of the legs and arms.
Excessive sleepiness and or confusion.
Vision changes and increased pain around the incision site.
Redness, swelling, bleeding or drainage or other drainage from the incision site or the face.
And fever or chills.
The life expectancy after a craniotomy is around 5 years although some people have lived 10 years and longer depending on the condition they were treated for and their age.
A craniotomy is a major surgery as it is done to work on the brain and remove and diagnose brain tumors or other life threatening conditions or to diagnose and treat conditions after a traumatic brain injury.
The skull does grow back after a craniotomy and the bone flap mends itself over time and then partially heals back into the rest of your skull bone within 2 to 3 months.
However full recovery from a craniotomy can take a few months depending on the underlying condition that was treated.
Cranioplasty is not considered brain surgery as it does not involve surgery on the brain.
However with a cranioplasty the surgeon does repair your skull such as for skull fractures or deformities.
So during the cranioplasty the surgeon will need to cut into your skull and head to fix the issues but they don't work on your brain.
A brain surgeon would perform brain surgery which is even more complex.