Receive Deep Brain Stimulation at Dignity Health - St. Rose Dominican Hospitals
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a therapeutic procedure that delivers electrical signals to select parts of the brain. The goal is to disrupt certain brain pathways that are causing neurological symptoms. The electrical signals help control or possibly stop the symptoms of certain neurological conditions, including movement disorders and chronic pain.
Patients may seek deep brain stimulation in Las Vegas or Henderson, NV, for a variety of reasons. The neurological specialists at Dignity Health - St. Rose Dominican hospitals can help determine if DBS can provide relief for your symptoms. To learn more, find a neurologist associated with St. Rose Dominican and schedule a consultation today.
Why Deep Brain Stimulation is Performed
Neurologists may recommend DBS when other therapies are not successful or there are no other treatment options. For example, if medication is no longer working to control tremor associated with Parkinson’s disease or frequent seizures associated with epilepsy, deep brain stimulation may significantly help improve a patient’s quality of life.
Conditions known to respond to deep brain stimulation include:
- Essential tremor, which is not due to Parkinson’s
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder
- Dystonia
- Epilepsy
- Parkinson’s disease tremor
- Tourette syndrome
- Chronic pain
Your DBS Procedure in Las Vegas and Henderson, NV
Deep brain stimulation surgery is a two-part process: surgery to implant the electrodes in the brain and a minor surgery to implant the stimulator under the skin near your collarbone. DBS is a stereotactic procedure, meaning it relies on three-dimensional (3-D) mapping with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to pinpoint the target area.
You will likely be awake when the surgeon implants the electrodes in your brain. You will not feel them because your brain itself does not sense pain. Your care team will treat you with a local anesthetic before the small incision is made in your scalp and skull. You’ll be fitted with a metal frame to hold your head still throughout the procedure.
Neurosurgeons use the 3-D brain map to place the electrodes and make minor adjustments, if necessary. The procedure takes three to four hours. Once the electrodes are in place, the surgeon closes the incision.
The second part of the surgery places the stimulator. This may be performed the same day or days later. You will receive general anesthesia. The surgeon reopens the incision in your skull to access the lead wires and threads them down to below your collarbone. The surgeon then places the electrical pulse generator through an incision in your chest wall or abdomen and connects it to the lead wires.
Deep Brain Stimulation Recovery
Following both procedures, you will be moved to a recovery room so your care team can monitor you while the anesthesia or sedation wears off. Your surgeon will tell you what activities you should avoid during the recovery process.
Your surgeon will program the handheld stimulator and adjust your medications during a follow-up appointment. You will also be taught how to set the stimulator to control the pulse generator.
Dignity Health - St. Rose Dominican hospitals provides DBS in Las Vegas and Henderson, NV.