Physicians at The University of Arizona Medical Center – University Campus are now offering minimally invasive MRI-guided brain surgery for epilepsy patients.
UA Medical Center officials this week completed their first such procedure on an adult epilepsy patient. The laser surgery is a safer, less invasive alternative to opening the skull and cutting out the brain tissue where the disorder originates.
A 48-year-old Tucson man underwent the MRI-guided laser surgery and was released the following day, officials said. Two other patients are scheduled to have the surgery in the next month.
Epilepsy is a disorder that occurs when surges of electrical activity in the brain result in seizures or loss of consciousness. About 3 million Americans are thought to have some form of epilepsy. The disorder is usually controlled with medication. However, more than 30 percent of people with epilepsy do not have seizure control even with medication and, until very recently, major brain surgery or implantation of a device have been their only treatment options.
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In the laser surgery, physicians place a thread-like laser applicator into the patient’s brain, then use the MRI to visualize epileptic areas inside the patient’s temporal lobe. They then guide a thermal laser to heat and destroy those areas.
Minimally invasive laser surgery to treat epilepsy was first used late in 2010 at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, which reported excellent results on six pediatric patients. A similar surgical technique has been used successfully for more than a decade to treat certain brain tumors.
“This promising procedure has worked very well elsewhere and we are excited to offer it in Arizona,” said neurologist Dr. David M. Labiner, who heads the UA Medical Center’s department of neurology, as well as its Arizona Comprehensive Epilepsy Program.
“It’s low-risk and far easier on patients than traditional brain surgery. We’re optimistic that it will become the treatment of choice for adults and children with epilepsy that does not respond to standard medical treatments.”
