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Hi Dave.... A number of List-members, myself included, have had pallidotomies . Results vary from person to person, depending upon their individual Parkinson's symptoms, and the training and skill of their neurosurgeon. Speaking only for myself, I had a unilateral (one side only) pallidotomy nearly five years ago with outstanding results. The surgery itself took about an hour, was completely painless (the brain doesn't feel pain, thank goodness, 'cause no anesthetics are used), and benefits were immediate, and in my case, have remained unchanged since the day of the surgery. That said, pallidotomy is NOT A CURE!! It will not stop you from getting symptoms on the side that was not operated on, tho it MAY slow those symptoms down or put 'em in an actual remission for a while, which is what happened in my case. The PD symptoms had juuuust started on the other side about 6 months prior to my surgery disappeared for over 3 years after having the surgery and are just now returning to that side. According to my neurosurgeon, Dr. Robert Iacono, that non-surgery-side-"remission" happens in about 60 per cent of the cases he operates on. Today, I have no visible PD symptoms on the right side of my body - that is, the side the surgery treated remains the same now as it did the day I had the surgery, however, I DO now have some symptoms (treatable with Sinemet, in my case) on the other side of my body, plus some internal (non-visible, but DEFINITELY there!) symptoms. One further comment.... I was, and still am, thrilled with the results of my pallidotomy. Others are not as contented with the results of their surgery. There's no guarantees on an INDIVIDUAL basis with brain surgery, however, overall most people having this surgery have at least SOME post-surgical benefits. Whether or not it was what they expected is another thing.... Barb Mallut [log in to unmask] ---------- From: Parkinson's Information Exchange on behalf of Dave Parcej Sent: Friday, June 05, 1998 7:30 AM To: Multiple recipients of list PARKINSN Subject: pallidotomy Hi all. For my friend again! I have read a bit about a procedure called a pallidotomy, where a globus pallidus pathway is disrupted to reduce Ach inputs. Does anyone know anyone who has had this? Whats the general opinion about this treatment?. Most importantly, any european centres which offer this procedure? Any information gratefully received! Dave -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dave Parcej Abt. Strukturbiologie MPI fuer Biophysik Heinrich Hoffmann Str. 7 D60528 Phone: 069 96 76 93 85 Frankfurt-am-Main Fax: 069 96 76 93 59 Deutschland http:/www.biophys.mpg.de/ --------------------------------------------------------------------------