 |
 |
Billy, you asked about the surgery performed in France: > His case was diagnosed 4 years ago and has no tremors however the > The progression has been terribly rapid and we were so hoping that the surgery >performed in France with the double implants etc. was a glimmer of hope. > After speaking with Medtronics we were informed that the FDA is at >least 2 years away from approval. We were advised to call our >Congressman. Is there anyone else on line who is in this predicament? I think the surgery you're referring to is pallidal stimulation. This is being done in the US on an experimental basis, both at the University of Kansas Medical Center and someplace in Minnesota, I think. Your contact at KU Med Center would be Dr. William Koller, 3901 Rainbow Boulevard, KC, Kansas, 66160-7314. His phone number is 913-588-6970. My husband had two pallidal stimulation surgeries at KU Med, and has a much-improved quality of life. You don't say what symptoms you're hoping to treat with the surgery. I don't think slowness or freezing are much improved by the surgery, but dystonia and dyskinesia would be, as would tremor, if that were a problem. If you want more info about this surgery, you can do an archive search and look under pallidal stimulation, and you might check pallidotomy, too. Margie Swindler [log in to unmask]