“It concerns deep brain stimulation in which two electrodes are implanted in the deep brain structure. Previously, this operation was always performed when the patient was awake,” says Vinke.
Operation lasted almost whole working day
During the operation, electrodes are placed in the brain through two holes drilled in the skull. They are in contact with a box via subcutaneous cables behind the ears. That box is also under the skin, just below the collarbone. From that box, electrical currents are sent to the brain, which reduces Parkinson’s symptoms.
People always had to stay awake because they have to perform all kinds of tests during the operation, says Vinke. “Then the surgeon can immediately check whether the symptoms decrease when the electrodes are placed.”
There are drawbacks to this classical method. The operation takes almost an entire working day, most of which the patient is awake with the head fixed. In addition, the patient has to temporarily stop taking medication, which exacerbates the complaints.
MRI-scans
“Nowadays that is no longer necessary,” says Vinke, “We now have specially developed MRI scans. As a result, the operation can now be performed under anesthesia.”
According to Vinke, it also saves time: “The procedure is much shorter. We can now operate on two patients in one day instead of one. In addition, patients continue to take their medication, so that the complaints remain stable.”
“Since 2019, Radboudumc has only performed these operations for Parkinson’s with the aid of MRI and under anesthesia,” says Vinke. Worldwide, the procedure is still performed according to the traditional awake method in the vast majority of situations.
Strikingly more women are registering
“Since we started operating under anesthesia, the number of women who report for this operation has risen sharply,” says Vinke, “Parkinson’s occurs in forty percent of cases in women. But in our study only seventeen percent of patients in the classical surgical method female”
According to Vinke, that percentage has now risen to over forty percent, as the disease is therefore also distributed in the population.
Vinke doesn’t know why more women are now reporting: “More research would be done into this. We think that men with Parkinson’s are not afraid to take risks. They don’t mind. Women look more at what they see in the scales. if they’re considering such an operation. But again, that’s something we need to figure out.”
