DBS SURGERY – Stage 2 Photographs
They say a picture is worth a thousand words… I recently received these photographs of Stage 2 of my DBS surgery! They brought back memories, and answered a lot of questions I had!
To start, thank you to Dr. Ko and his team. There is no way I can show them how grateful I am! I can’t even come close to expressing my appreciation for their skill and knowledge to have me go through brain surgery and come out better than what I was! Until I closely looked at these photographs, I did not actually realize what I had gone through!
It’s hard to explain … I know what I was going through, but I didn’t actually grasp the seriousness of the event! I had numerous appointments and consultations. All telling me the positive and negative possibilities of surgery, but all of my doctors were so honest and trustworthy I never had visions of any unsuccessful outcomes! And everything turned out successful! I survived brain surgery! I am better today than what I was before! I have my medical team to thank for that! Their knowledge and training, along with their commitment to success and teamwork are qualities were medical staff should strive to achieve!
Looking at the pictures make me realize how serious the procedure actually was. The early pictures show me giving the “thumbs up” before they took my surgical hat! The later photo with the thumbs up where I looked “stoned”, are when surgery is done, and they are preparing to take another CT Scan.
The photo of the tool bench (surgery tools) looks amazing!
Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery
On the day of surgery, the patient is positioned comfortably in the operating room with his/her head and neck resting on a cervical support which is attached to the table. The front of the collar is used to secure the patient while asleep but is removed once fully awake and conscious.
The success of DBS surgery depends on the accuracy of the placement of the DBS leads within a particular group of neurons (nucleus). Therefore, a stereotactic frame guides surgery. This metal frame is a highly accurate measurement device that is attached to a patient’s head like a halo. Using this frame, any location within the brain may be targeted precisely within a millimeter.
In order to match the frame with the patient’s brain, an MRI scan must be performed with this MRI-compatible frame in place. In addition, location of the DBS wires in the brain is confirmed with microelectrode recording and test stimulation. Microelectrode recording is essentially “listening” to the brain activity. Different areas in the brain have characteristic firing patterns, which means they sound differently when we listen to them.
Finally, when they are confident in the brain location, they perform a test to check for any side effects and benefits to the stimulation. After all this information is confirmed, the permanent DBS electrode is implanted in the brain, and the other end is tucked under the scalp for later connection to the neurostimulator. This procedure is usually performed on both sides of the brain during a single surgery.
Based on studies comparing DBS to best medical therapy (BMT) in both early and advanced Parkinson’s disease, evaluating overall motor function, the following has been demonstrated regarding the success rate of DBS:
Link to Medtronic website
85–89% improvement from baseline (before DBS)
7–13% no change from baseline (before DBS)
2–4% worsening from baseline (before DBS)
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