Jacob -
In a message dated 97-03-08 13:31:49 EST, you write:
>Dr. Lozano, the surgeon who would examine me has stated that a thalamotomy
>for CO poisoning would be totally experimental, due to a complete lack of
>documented cases of this. In other words, mine would be the first. Wouldn't
>this designation of experimental make it free of any cost?
Like you, when we learned Dick was a candidate for an experimental pallidal
stimulation, we heard the word "experimental" and thought "free." We, and
almost everyone else we knew, assumed that the patient did medical science
the great service of offering himself/herself up for experimentation, and
medical science, in its immense gratitude, through grants and so forth,
absorbed all the costs.
Not so. Although Dick's surgery was at a regional medical center associated
with a University, and emphasizing research, the only things that were free
were the services of the neurologist, the neurosurgeon, and the
neurophysiologists (the "brain mapper" guys). The hospital still needed to
be paid for the room and basic services, plus the operating room, and the
anesthesiologist (needed for when the wires from the electrodes were
internalized), also had to be paid. Also, we paid a small fortune for Dick's
routine PD meds. If you have the surgery, see if you can get permission to
take your own meds with you.
Where are you having your surgery? And is Dr. Luzier donating his services?
If not, you might see if that can be negotiated.
In answer to your second question, I too would like to hear how damage to the
globus pallidus can be corrected by a lesion on the thalamus. I do know that
thalamotomy is effective on tremor (in the cases of PD and of essential
tremor), so I assume it works on the same principle as in PD - i.e., although
the damage in PD is also to the globus pallidus, for some reason the thalamus
is the site that can most effectively control tremor if lesioned, whatever
the disease mechanism that causes it. Wish I understood it.
Good luck to you, Jacob. We're all rooting for you.
Margie Swindler [log in to unmask]
