US experts shed light on Parkinson’s surgery

Filipino doctors gained a deeper insight on the treatment of Parkinson’s disease with the culmination of the Surgical UF-The Philippines Pilot Outreach and Training for Parkinson Disease held at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan recently.

The convention was hosted by the Philippine Movement of Disorder Surgery Center (PhilMove) in collaboration with the University of Florida, the Philippine Neurological Association and the Movement Disorder Society of the Philippines.

Drs. Kelly Foote, Michael Okun, Hubert Fernandez and Ramon Rodriguez of the University of Florida discussed with their Filipino counterparts the breakthrough Activa Parkinson’s Control Deep-Brain Stimulation (DBS) surgery, a procedure that involves the implantation of a device to minimize the involuntary movements of Parkinson’s patients.

The therapy seeks to control tremors, slowness of movement, rigidity and stiffness of muscles as well as poorness of balance, among others.

“We see a drastic improvement of 90 percent or nearly normal functions in our patients after the surgery. They get to lead normal lives after the implants,” said Foote, who trained in France under the doctor who pioneered DBS.

“We learned that over one million Filipinos are suffering from Parkinson’s disease. That’s a very large population in the future who would be debilitated by the disease… and DBS can help improve their quality of life,” Okun added.

According to Rodriguez, the best time for DBS surgery would be when the medication fails to minimize the disability of the patient.

“Parkinson’s disease is a progressive disease. When the patient’s response to medication is no longer as effective as before, we recommend DBS,“ he said.

Rodriguez said DBS surgery is not constrained to Parkinson’s disease patients. He said they also conducted DBS on patients with essential tremors, the second most common motor disorder. The surgery is just as successful as those on Parkinson’s disease patients.

The Florida team was here to share their experience on DBS and the management of the medical complications of Parkinson’s disease.

“We are here to spread advocacy on DBS. Hopefully, we can help Filipinos develop centers of excellence for Parkinson’s disease, especially in the province. We have seen the center here in Manila and we are confident with the Filipino team,” Okun said.

The convention concluded with a hands-on demonstration of DBS on two Parkinson’s disease patients. The Philippine team was composed of neurosurgeons, neurologists, anesthesiologists, a psychiatrist and psychologist.

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For more information, call the Philippine Movement Disorder Surgery Center at (632) 726-0776 or 727-7653 (facsimile) or e-mail at [email protected].