After being denied surgery by several doctors in the US, a 71-year-old suffering from advanced Parkinson’s disease was finally operated upon in Mumbai.
Unable to hold and read a newspaper, or even turn sides while sleeping, Orlando resident Mohammad Walji underwent a Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) surgery on February 25. He now reads a newspaper daily and even cooks sometimes.
Walji’s 10-year-old disease was beyond the control of medicines. For the past two months, he was having severe motor fluctuation (tremors, rigidity and postural instability) and pain in the body.
The family had approached several doctors in the US who refused surgery due to his old age. Some even suggested putting Walji in a shelter home.
“He was dependent on my mother for every small thing which made him impulsive. He lost interest in everything around him,” said Walji’s daughter Siddika, adding that the surgery has considerably minimised his hallucinations and pain.
While looking for treatment for the disease, Walji came across a Tanzanian woman who has undergone DBS surgery at Jaslok Hospital. “I convinced my family about the treatment and we immediately got in touch with the hospital,” said Walji in his unclear speech.
Neurosurgeon Dr Paresh Doshi who carried out the three-hour surgery on Walji, said: “We explore the patient’s brain with electrodes. Elder the patient, more is the risk of causing damage. So, the surgery has to be carried out within a fixed number of hours to avoid any kind of complication.”
“The surgery is done in awake condition and we keep checking the patient for improvement as well as side effects,” added Doshi.
The DBS surgery is suggested for patients who do not have a good quality of life by medicines. The surgery involves making a small hole in the skull to put the electrodes to test signals coming from brain cells. .
The patient is also checked for side effects. Once there are no side effects, the temporary electrodes are replaced with permanent one.
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