Hospital offers surgical cure for epilepsy
abu dhabi — Epilepsy patients have found a new cure for their life-long disability, thanks to a specialised brain surgery introduced by doctors in Abu Dhabi. Dr Deepak Lachhwani, department chair of neurology at Neurological Institute, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi (CCAD), told Khaleej Times that epilepsy patients who are not responding to medication, are eligible candidates for the surgery, which requires doctors to remove a part of the brain.
He said five patients have been successfully operated upon so far.
Approximately, one per cent of the UAE’s population suffers from epilepsy, and only two-thirds will respond to medicine, while onethird of the patients will continue to battle with seizures.
Dr Lachhwani said: “If the patients fail at least two medicines, then we carefully evaluate them to see if epilepsy surgery could be an option.”
He added: “Imagine not knowing when your brain might cause a seizure, it could be now, it could be in the bathroom, at the mall or in front of important people in your life. That’s what epilepsy is — an unpredictable electrical storm of the brain.”
The epilepsy programme at CCAD, includes a comprehensive planning for brain surgery to treat
If the patients fail at least two medicines, then we carefully evaluate them to see if epilepsy surgery could be an option.”
Dr Florian Roser, Department Chair, Neurosurgery, Neurological Institute,
the patients who do not respond to medicine. The programme is unique to CCAD and to the UAE, and the first epilepsy brain surgery took place in 2016.
‘Electrical storm’
Dr Lachhwani explained that epilepsy, which is described as an ‘electrical storm,’ gives rise to the outward manifestation of the seizure symptoms. Although the storm occurs in the brain, the body responds in a form of what looks like a seizure.
Moreover, there is a confirmed risk for sudden unexplained death in epilepsy patients.
“Seizures give a rise to challenges in daily life and they are a risk for the overall physiological development and quality of life.”
Doctors now expect to cure between 25-30 patients a year in the next two to three years, due to the surgery. Dr Lachhwani said that the five patients have recovered remarkably well and “they are living without any neurological complications.”
He added that the surgery is life-changing, not only for the patients but also for their families. “For the candidates whose medicine failed, surgery becomes a preferred treatment option because of the burden on them, the family and the society.
Dr Florian Roser, department chair of neurosurgery at the Neurological Institute, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, said the surgery required a true team effort. Operating the brain is like no other kind of surgery, the level of precision and technique required for a successful surgery is on another level entirely. The challenge is in removing the malfunctioning part of the brain while leaving the major functional areas intact,” he added.
Patient shares experience
A young Emirati woman, who suffered from refractory epilepsy, said she had been having seizures multiple times per week for 10 years, which caused her to put her life on hold.
Her condition meant that she had to give up her studies, as she found it difficult to leave her home to meet people, due to the frequency of her seizures.
After a careful, multidisciplinary evaluation to determine the precise region of her brain causing her seizures, a team of epilepsy experts at the at the hospital determined that it could be safely removed without causing a functional deficit.
Following the surgery, the patient is seizure-free and already reporting a significant improvement in her quality of life.
“I spent many years suffering but now, for the first time, I can see a bright future for myself,” the young Emirati woman said.
jasmine@khaleejtimes.com