Surgery For Parkinson’s Disease

Introduction

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive brain disorder. You may have various symptoms that become severe with time. There are various treatment options for this disease, but, unfortunately, there is no cure at present. The treatment is directed at managing your symptoms. If you are not getting relief from medications, the doctor may advise you Deep Brain Stimulation. You should search for the best surgeon who performs Deep Brain Stimulation in India.

What Is Parkinson’s Disease?

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder. It may affect your movement. If you are in the early stage of the disease, you have reduced or absent facial expression, and your speech becomes slurred. As the condition progresses, you experience any severe symptoms such as difficulty in balancing, coordination, and walking. You may also have memory problems, depression, sleep disorders, and fatigue. In the absence of any treatment, your quality of life is significantly reduced.

What Are The Surgical Options For Parkinson’s Disease?

Unfortunately, there is no surgery or medicines that can completely cure your disease. However, some surgeries may reduce your symptoms and improve your overall health. You have the following surgical options for managing Parkinson’s disease:

Deep Brain Stimulation: Your doctor will deliver the electric impulses in your brain through a device. It helps you to manage the motor symptoms related to Parkinson’s disease such as tremor, stiffness, and slowness.

Thalamotomy: If you are suffering from severe tremor, then the doctor may advise you to undergo thalamotomy. In this surgery, your thalamus is destroyed. Although done very rarely today, this surgery may improve symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. The surgery is done after identifying your thalamus through a CT scan or MRI.

Sub-thalamotomy: It is generally performed on one side of the brain. During this surgery, the doctor will destroy the subthalamic nucleus of the brain. After surgery, you may have relief from tremor, slowness, and stiffness.

Pallidotomy: If you have Parkinson’s disease, and your medication does not improve motor symptoms such as tremor and rigidity, your doctor may recommend Pallidotomy. During this surgery, your doctor damages the globus pallidus of your brain. This part is responsible for severe motor activities.

What Is Deep Brain Stimulation?

Deep brain stimulation is a surgery to prevent or manage the symptoms of the various disease such as Parkinson’s disease, dystonia, major depression, and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. During this procedure, you have a neurostimulator implanted at appropriate places in brain tissues. This neurostimulator generates electric impulses in your brain. This neurostimulator has the following parts:

• Lead
• Anchors to connect the lead to skull
• Neurostimulator to initiate impulse and is attached to the clavicle
• The wire which is thin and insulated

Through this procedure, the signals in your brain, that are causing the symptoms, are blocked by the impulses generated by a neurostimulator. The doctor will advise this procedure if you have a long history of Parkinson’s disease, and you have no relief in symptoms from current medications.

What Are The Techniques For Deep Brain Stimulation?

Your doctor may advise you one or more of the following types of Deep Brain Stimulation:

Subthalamic deep brain stimulation: In this procedure, the doctor will place lead in the subthalamic nucleus of your brain. The impulses by neurostimulators block the signals in this region.

Thalamic Deep Brain Stimulation: In this process, the doctor will place the lead in the thalamus of your brain and stop the signals though neurostimulators.

Globus Pallidus Deep Brain Stimulation:  In this process, the doctor will place the lead in the globus pallidus of your brain. This region is responsible for various motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease. Neurostimulator reduces the activity of this region through impulse generation.