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. At 22:57 30-7-98 EDT, you wrote: >Hello all. > >I read this article with interest and no small amount of concern. I have two >questions to throw out to the group: > >1. I am unfamiliar with the term "posteroventral stereotactic." Could one of >our medical folks please elaborate? Is this just the formal name for the most >common type of pallidotomy? > >2. I would be interested to hear from PWPs and CGs who have had *first-hand* >experience with pallidotomy, specifically could you please address the >"cognitive impairment and behavioral changes" you experienced/witnessed. > >Thanks from all of us. >Joanna (CG) > >In a message dated 7/29/98 11:11:32 PM EST, [log in to unmask] writes: > >> Surgery for Parkinson's disease carries >> neuropsychologic risks >> Johanna, I can only answer your second question: I had a right sided pallidotomy about ten months ago and was neuropsychological tested before and six months after surgery. I will be tested again about a year after surgery. The tests before the surgery indicated that parkinson did not disturb any cognitive function. Half a year after, however it was beyond doubt that some typical "right hemisphere funcions" had somewhat deteriorated. Especially on the subtest of recognizing faces, a function on which I had pre-surgically the highest possible score. I had hardly known I had this talent, and now it was lost again. Language and memory were not affected. I was told by the neuropsychologist that they didn't have a test to measure emotional instability, but they had a strong impression that that was at least a temporary outcome of the surgery. I had the impression that I too had that symptom after my surgery. I was told by family members of an other patient, that they where absolutely convinced that their PWP was very unstable, in a way they had never seen before, for many weeks after surgery. I was doing some translation work, which I started before surgery and I whished to go on with that soon again. For translating one does not only need intact language functions, but also some integrative right hemisphere functions. If these are missing, the translation one is able to produce is too literally. And that was exactly what was wrong. At first I thought this was caused by a general incapability to concentrate, which was, so I was told, to be expected and temporary (a few days) and caused by a general reaction of the brain on the intrusion. It lasted weeks however and that was scary. Next to that my articulation was disturbed. That too lasted weeks. People could not understand me. Now I suffer from this only when tired. My neuro says that a pallidotomy at the other side would be too risky and might cause a serious and not temporary speech problem. I hope this will help you in reaching a decision. Regards, Ida Kamphuis -------------------------------------------------------------- Vriendelijke Groeten / Kind regards, Ida Kamphuis mailto: [log in to unmask]