Columbia Asia Referral Hospital, Yeshwanthpur Conducts Successful Deep Brain Stimulation

BANGALORE, April 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Hospital Performed DBS on Patients who Were Suffering Since Long From Slowness in Body Movement, Speech and Postural Issues

Forty-two year old Somnath Raju, a teacher in a primary school, suddenly started feeling pain and stiffness in his shoulder. It was only when his students in the last row began to complain that they could barely hear his voice across the classroom, Somnath sensed something was wrong. A visit to a neurologist confirmed he had Parkinson's disease. Somnath was put on severe doses of medication for the next few years which added further complications to his already deteriorating health.

Parkinson's disease is one of the most common neurological disorders affecting 22 out of every 10,000 individuals. Believed to be incurable, it usually affects patients above 60 years. However, in recent years, 25% of the cases reported involve younger patients. This is a degenerative, progressive disorder of the nervous system that affects the movement of the limbs and facial muscles. Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is considered to be one of the latest and advanced technologies in the treatment of neurological diseases. The electrical signals from the Neurostimulator modify the abnormal nerve signals, which cause PD symptoms (tremor, rigidity, walking problems, stiffness, and others).

Columbia Asia Hospital is one among the few centers in India to have DBS expertise in treating neurological diseases. The hospital has a team of high profile consultants who help patients manage all aspects of the complex condition through an integrated approach including counseling of the patients and their relatives.

Veerendra Kamath, a 55-year-old resident of Hubli, had to take up voluntary retirement much earlier than he would have liked to. It was all normal when suddenly one day he was unable to get up from his chair. Immediately, he was taken to a nearby hospital where he was informed that he was suffering from Parkinson's.

A successful DBS surgery was conducted on Veerendra by a team of doctors at the hospital. Today he has resumed his job and returned back to normal life; while Somnath not only got relieved from his decade old suffering but also his medication went down by 90%.

"DBS uses a surgically implanted, battery-operated neurostimulator to deliver electrical stimulation to targeted areas in the brain that control movement. DBS surgeries are done through a small hole drilled in the head. These are high precision surgeries guided by latest neuro-navigation techniques. The patient is awake during the surgery so as to assess the response in the operation theatre," said Dr. Raghuram, Consultant Neurosurgeon, Columbia Asia Referral Hospital, Yeshwanthpur.

Both Vereendra Kamath and Somnath Raju have been relieved from their suffering and infused new life that restored their days back to the tracks of a normal and healthy life.

"My father did not hide his tremors," says Dr. Sudarshan, speaking about Prof. Satish Mohandas, a scientist, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease when he was 60. Prof. Satish is now 70 years and underwent Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) six months ago at the CARHY hospital. Dr. Raghuram and his team performed DBS on the scientist in October last year. Today, six months later, Prof. Satish leads a normal life, his medications have come down by 80-90 per cent and undergoes physiotherapy at home under the watchful eyes of his son and family.

Dr. Guruprasad H, Consultant Neurologist and Movement Disorder Specialist, Columbia Asia Referral Hospital believes that DBS will give a new ray of hope to patients with neurological disorders. "My message to people diagnosed with Parkinson's disease is that - it doesn't matter what age you are, or how far along you are in the disease, if you are having persistent symptoms not relieved by high doses of medications and severe side effects of medicines, you don't have to persist with the drugs or wait until you're so bad that nothing else helps, before considering DBS surgery," says the doctor.

He adds, "Parkinson's disease can be controlled though there is no perfect cure. Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) therapy is a good option in carefully selected patients who are at an advanced stage of the disease."

Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease (PD), the neurological movement disorder which is considered to be affecting only the elderly is found to be increasingly affecting people well below 40 years of age and is increasing its footprint in India.

DBS

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a surgical procedure used to treat a variety of disabling neurological symptoms - most commonly the debilitating symptoms of Parkinson's disease. DBS uses a surgically implanted, battery-operated medical device called a neurostimulator - similar to a heart pacemaker and approximately the size of a stopwatch - to deliver electrical stimulation to targeted areas in the brain that control movement, modifying the abnormal nerve signals that cause tremor and PD symptoms. 

About Columbia Asia Hospitals Pvt. Ltd.

Columbia Asia Hospitals Pvt. Ltd. is one of the first healthcare companies to enter the country through 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) route. For more information, visit www.columbiaasia.com.

About Columbia Asia Group of Companies

The Columbia Asia Group is owned by more than 150 private equity companies, fund management organizations and individual investors. The group currently operates seven multi-specialty hospitals, one referral hospital and one clinic in India. The company also operates hospitals in Malaysia (10), Vietnam (3), and Indonesia (1). The Indian management operations are managed from its office in Bangalore.

Primary Media Contact: Kanchana Prasad, [email protected], 91-80-40211000