Laser Technique Cures Epilepsy
By: Charlotte Ames
Updated: May 9, 2012
Peeling back the scalp, cutting the skull and removing a chunk of the brain. It's the traditional way to cure certain kinds of epilepsy. But the complications can be worse than the seizures. Now, there's a new high-tech and low-risk way to erase epilepsy.
An old video of Keagan Dysart shows him giggling, but the laughter isn't real, it's a gelastic seizure. Robin and Khris Dysart say their son Keagan had the seizures three times every hour. A craniotomy was the best chance for a cure. Surgeons may have to take out normal brain tissue to move the lesion causing the seizures. Complications can include paralysis, uncontrolled urination and even death.
To avoid taking out any brain, Doctors Angus Wilfong and Daniel Curry of Texas Children's Hospital developed a low-risk minimally invasive MRI-guided laser surgery to cure epilepsy. Keagan was one of their first patients.
With an instrument, smaller than the size of a pencil lead, the doctors navigated their way to Keagan's deep-seated lesion. With the MRI, they were able to see in real time exactly where they were in Keagan's brain. The doctors watched the laser destroy the lesion and cure Keagan's epilepsy. Today Keagan's seizure free.
Texas Children's Hospital is the first in the world to perform the MRI-guided laser surgery to cure epilepsy.The procedure was adopted from a technique to treat brain tumors. It's now being used for kids and adults. The doctors say some of their patients go home the day after their brain surgery.
An old video of Keagan Dysart shows him giggling, but the laughter isn't real, it's a gelastic seizure. Robin and Khris Dysart say their son Keagan had the seizures three times every hour. A craniotomy was the best chance for a cure. Surgeons may have to take out normal brain tissue to move the lesion causing the seizures. Complications can include paralysis, uncontrolled urination and even death.
To avoid taking out any brain, Doctors Angus Wilfong and Daniel Curry of Texas Children's Hospital developed a low-risk minimally invasive MRI-guided laser surgery to cure epilepsy. Keagan was one of their first patients.
With an instrument, smaller than the size of a pencil lead, the doctors navigated their way to Keagan's deep-seated lesion. With the MRI, they were able to see in real time exactly where they were in Keagan's brain. The doctors watched the laser destroy the lesion and cure Keagan's epilepsy. Today Keagan's seizure free.
Texas Children's Hospital is the first in the world to perform the MRI-guided laser surgery to cure epilepsy.The procedure was adopted from a technique to treat brain tumors. It's now being used for kids and adults. The doctors say some of their patients go home the day after their brain surgery.
