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On Tue 01 Sep, Bonnie Cunningham, R.N. wrote: > Dear Hillary: > Pallidotomy is intended to help symptoms such as rigidity and dyskinesias. > This is the more invasive surgery of the two as a probe actually passes > into the brain. > > DBS will control tremors only. This surgery requires that electrodes be > placed ON the brain, so nothing actually passes through the brain. There is > a control box that is implanted into the chest muscle, much like a cardiac > pacer, with thin wires run up the vessels in the neck to the electrodes. > > While tremors can be very debilitating for some, it is more often that > rigidity is the most debilitating part of PD. > > > Bonnie Cunningham, R.N. > Patient Services Director > NPF > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Hello Bonnie. Are you SURE that the Deep Brain Stimulation operation does not involve inserting probes into the brain? My understanding is that a probe is inserted into the brain, in almost exactly the way that is used during the Pallidotomy operation. The difference is that in the case of a Pallidotomy a current is passed through the head of the probe, which destroys the surrounding cells. The risk element exists because of the possiblity of 'cooking' adjacent cells which are not involved with Parkinsons. In particular the speech and eyesight functions are at risk. In the case of DBS, the same type of invasive probe is used, but it carries with it trailing wires which are connected to a transmitter head. The transmitter head is located at the point in the brain where the effect is to be produced: If the DBS system is used to perform a Pallidotomy-type operation, the transmitter head is located at the same place as in the Pallidotomy, but the high frequency signal is non-destructive. So, if for some reason it becomes necessary to remove the probe, this can be done, and the brain reverts to its original mode. In a Pallidotomy the operation is non-reversible. The risks in a DBS operation are thus lower than for a Pallidotomy. The bad news is that the cost of the external hardware is much greater in the DBS operation (several thousand pounds more), and this hardware requires sevicing, battery changes, etc. -- Brian Collins <[log in to unmask]>