[h=1]Doctors remove part of girl's brain to stop seizures[/h]Janani Sampath,TNN | Jul 23, 2014, 04.07 AM IST
Doctors removed a portion of girl's brain and de-wired some portions that were causing seizures.
CHENNAI: Can half a brain be better than a whole one? That proved to be the case for eight-year-old Samia Sultana from Bangladesh, who was suffering from a rare neurological disease which caused severe seizures and other complications.
Doctors at a city hospital gave her a fresh lease of life by performing a challenging surgery, in which they removed a portion of her brain and de-wired some portions that were causing seizures. The girl, who could barely talk or swallow food three months ago, is now able to talk, walk and lead a normal life.
Samia was leading a normal life till October 2013 when she started feeling that her right hand and right leg were moving on their own without her control. Doctors in a hospital in Bangladesh diagnosed her condition as rheumatic chorea. Soon, she started getting epileptic attacks. An MRI scan showed that the child had a swelling on her left brain which doctors assumed was a tumor.
Samia was brought to India and admitted in a hospital in Chennai in February, but her condition did not improve. Moreover, her epileptic attacks became more frequent, which affected her speech and mobility. In April, she developed a lung infection and had to be kept on a ventilator. In mid-April, when her condition worsened, she was brought to Fortis Malar Hospitals.
Illustration: Shinod Akkaraparambil
"We found that she was suffering from Rasmussen's encephalitis, a rare neurological disease. It is characterized by frequent and severe seizures, loss of motor skills and speech, paralysis on one side of the body, inflammation of the brain and dementia," said neurologist Dr Dinesh Nayak. He said the disease mimics symptoms of other problems like brain tumour and displegia, which makes it difficult to diagnose. "Her left side of the brain was damaged. In adults, this would cause irreversible damage to one's ability to learn, remember and speak languages, a function which is controlled by the left side of the brain. But since she was a child, her right side took over that function," he said.
When medication did not help, a complicated surgical procedure called hemispherectomy was performed. "In this, the damaged half of the brain is disconnected from the good half. It is reserved for extreme cases which cannot be treated by medication or other less invasive surgeries," said Dr Nayak. The procedure lasted for six hours. "The seizures stopped immediately after the surgery. The child was on ventilator for three weeks after surgery and now she is able to talk and walk," the doctor said.
Doctors remove part of girl's brain to stop seizures - The Times of India
Doctors removed a portion of girl's brain and de-wired some portions that were causing seizures.
CHENNAI: Can half a brain be better than a whole one? That proved to be the case for eight-year-old Samia Sultana from Bangladesh, who was suffering from a rare neurological disease which caused severe seizures and other complications.
Doctors at a city hospital gave her a fresh lease of life by performing a challenging surgery, in which they removed a portion of her brain and de-wired some portions that were causing seizures. The girl, who could barely talk or swallow food three months ago, is now able to talk, walk and lead a normal life.
Samia was leading a normal life till October 2013 when she started feeling that her right hand and right leg were moving on their own without her control. Doctors in a hospital in Bangladesh diagnosed her condition as rheumatic chorea. Soon, she started getting epileptic attacks. An MRI scan showed that the child had a swelling on her left brain which doctors assumed was a tumor.
Samia was brought to India and admitted in a hospital in Chennai in February, but her condition did not improve. Moreover, her epileptic attacks became more frequent, which affected her speech and mobility. In April, she developed a lung infection and had to be kept on a ventilator. In mid-April, when her condition worsened, she was brought to Fortis Malar Hospitals.
Illustration: Shinod Akkaraparambil
"We found that she was suffering from Rasmussen's encephalitis, a rare neurological disease. It is characterized by frequent and severe seizures, loss of motor skills and speech, paralysis on one side of the body, inflammation of the brain and dementia," said neurologist Dr Dinesh Nayak. He said the disease mimics symptoms of other problems like brain tumour and displegia, which makes it difficult to diagnose. "Her left side of the brain was damaged. In adults, this would cause irreversible damage to one's ability to learn, remember and speak languages, a function which is controlled by the left side of the brain. But since she was a child, her right side took over that function," he said.
When medication did not help, a complicated surgical procedure called hemispherectomy was performed. "In this, the damaged half of the brain is disconnected from the good half. It is reserved for extreme cases which cannot be treated by medication or other less invasive surgeries," said Dr Nayak. The procedure lasted for six hours. "The seizures stopped immediately after the surgery. The child was on ventilator for three weeks after surgery and now she is able to talk and walk," the doctor said.
Doctors remove part of girl's brain to stop seizures - The Times of India
