 |
 |
Dear Pete and Ginny, I'm responding to the list, but we'd be happy to talk with you privately as well . Don had thalamic stimulation surgery (in France) in June 1994. We have our live s back. We have nothing but good things to say about his surgery (not unbiased opinions, obviously). The advantage to the stimulation surgery is that there is no destruction of any brain tissue, the stimulators are adjustable, and the surgery is "reversible" (in that there is no destruction). The biggest disadvantage of the "hardware" is that, like a pacemaker wearer, you can't go through the metal detector at the airport but have to be patted down by a guard (Don keeps applying to the female guards, but they always send a man). One concern might be your surgeon's skill. The procedure is not "new" or "experimental" in France; Dr. Benabid has been doing it for nearly a decade. Has your neurosurgeon done thalamic stimulation before? With what success? What hardware is to be used? Don's surgery was bilateral, so we can't say anything about a comparison--just that before surgery he had full-body tremor and since then he can hold drinks, walk straight, climb ladders, drive safely again, sleep at night, go backpacking and sailing, etc. We don't know how long it will last, but even if it all went away tomorrow, we'd be thankful to have had the past 17 months. If you'd like to discuss this off the list or on the phone, we'd be happy to talk with you. Joanne and Don Sandstrom [log in to unmask]