Deep brain stimulation: Pioneering surgery performed at General Hospital

Those suffering from Parkinson’s will not need to go abroad for treatment.

LAHORE:

Post-Graduate Medical Institute (PGMI) Principal Anjum Habib Vohra said on Saturday two deep brain stimulation surgeries had been successfully performed for the first time in Pakistan at the Lahore General Hospital (LGH).

Speaking to journalists, Vohra said this had made possible surgical treatment of Parkinson’s disease and muscle stress.  He said Shakeel Ahmad, a resident of Sheikhupura, had been operated by Professor Khalid Mahmood. Vohra said Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had financed the surgery.  Mahmood has been trained in the United States and the United Kingdom.



He said the government had provided a Rs50 million grant to purchase requisite equipment.

Vohra said patients suffering from Parkinson’s and muscle stress would not need to travel abroad for treatment any longer. He said the procedure costs Rs2 million in Pakistan. Vohra said this was reasonable compared to the costs in foreign countries. He said the same procedure costs equivalent of Rs10 million. Vohra said the procedure took six to nine hours abroad.

Vohra said symptoms of Parkinson’s included muscle stress in legs and trembling of body parts.  He said in acute cases it was impossible for patients to keep their heads steady.



Mahmood explained the procedure in detail. He said very fine electrodes powered by batteries were installed in holes drilled on both sides of the patient’s skull.  Mahmood said the batteries were then inserted under the skin of the patient’s chest. He said the procedure was similar to installing a pacemaker in case of a cardiac patient.

Vohra said thousands of patients visited the LGH from all over Pakistan as it was equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and diagnostic facilities. He said thousands of neurological surgeries were performed at the hospital annually.

Vohra said the hospital would become a one-of-a-kind facility following the completion of the institute of neuroscience.  He said the initiative had been taken to facilitate research in the sector. Vohra said young doctors would be trained at the institute. He said the institute would provide all facilities under one roof to patients of all ages.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 2^nd, 2014.