EXTENSION TUNNELING
AND BATTERY PLACEMENT
One or two weeks after Part 1, return for Part 2
- General anesthesia
- Small incision in scalp
- 2 inch incision below collar bone
- Extension leads tunneled from head to chest
- Wires connected
- Battery (= pulse generator = IPG) inserted and connected
- Awakened from surgery and can go home later that day
- Surgery duration 90 minutes
I decided to write about DBS to give a different point of view as to what one might expect or experience from the procedures…. Yes, there are more than one!
To catch up, after begging my “PCP” to see a Neurologist for more than 7 years, he finally gave me the referral! An hour with the specialist, and I was branded with Parkinson’s!
Learning there was no cure, I started my fight to slow the progression of the disease by joining a “Rock Steady Boxing” gym. The program is a non-contact boxing-theme exercise that uses therapy to reduce, reverse or delay the symptoms of Parkinson’s.
A short time later my Neurologist/Movement Specialist suggested I consider a DBS (Deep Brain Surgery) Implant. After weighing the options, I was ready to go all in.
The DBS Implant is a complex surgery that involves multiple phases. The first was implanting four anchors in my skull. A CT scan was then taken which is used as a guide to build a platform from a 3D printer. At the time of surgery, the platform is bolted to the anchors. To lessen the time I would be under general anesthesia, they pre-install it as a guide to drill two holes in my skull. The electrodes are then placed in my brain via these holes. Once done the anchors are removed.
In the second phase, the electrical wires are installed in the brain, that send impulses to block ones caused by the Parkinson’s. In the third phase a neurostimulator is placed under the skin of the chest like a pacemaker. It sends electrical signals through a wire lead to an area in the brain that controls movement. To give relief, they block some of the brain messages that cause movement.
The total time of these phases or steps took 30 days! As time went on I became frustrated and discouraged with the process. My cognitive issues became worse, I was slow to “find my words”, my gate became much shorter, and feet started to shuffle when I walked. I was missing my “Rock Steady Boxing”.
While checking in for my the final phase, a Medtronic Represented came in the room and told me the FDA had just approved the rechargeable version of the DBS Unit I was interested in and asked if I wanted it! WOW! I couldn’t believe it! The rechargeable version lasts up to 15 years. The version I was going to get only lasts around 1/3 of that! My answer was an emphatic YES! So my day was instantly going better!
I was told the post-surgical pain between the second and third phase was going to be a little more painful! During which time I would have some memory and cognitive issues! But it was ok… I won the lotto!
As I was getting rolled into surgery, I whispered to Pam… Good thinks come to those who wait!
Next week, they start to program my DBS!
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