Learning to Walk Again

Reported May 2006

RICHMOND, Va. (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- For patients with some types of movement disorders, a deep brain stimulation procedure can be a godsend. Until now, surgeons had to use a big, bulky device to hold patients still. But a new invention is making the surgery much easier on doctors and patients.

Three months ago, Tiffany Knight could barely walk down a hallway. A movement disorder called dystonia confined her to a wheelchair for most of her teen years.

"It was frustrating and crippling. It was just hell," she says. "I was really, really depressed about it. I was embarrassed. I wasn't able to drive and go places."

But today, Knight has a life. She walks so fast, her grandmother can barely keep up! A procedure called deep brain stimulation, or DBS, is what helped her.

Until now, doctors used a bulky device to hold patients in place during deep brain stimulation surgery, which usually lasts about eight hours and requires patients to stay awake!

"You're essentially bolted to the table, so you can't move, and for many patients, that's the most frightening aspect of the surgery," Neurosurgeon Kathryn Holloway, M.D., of the VCU Medical Center in Richmond, Va., tells Ivanhoe.

Now, Dr. Holloway uses a small, frameless device called NexFrame that's attached to the head with tiny screws. It's just as accurate, but patients can move, and operating time is reduced by about two hours.

"It makes it a lot more comfortable. Plus, we could see the patient much better," Dr. Holloway says. She used the new device on Knight, and it was a success.

Now, Knight's looking forward to starting her new life. "I feel like I actually have a future now. Before I didn't," she says. "I thought I was going to have to be dependent on people the rest of my life." Now, she can be as independent as she wants.

Deep brain stimulation can also be used on patients with Parkinson's, essential tremor, Tourette's and OCD. Right now, there are about 40 surgeons in the country using the new frameless device.

Click here to Go Inside This Science or contact:

VCU Medical Center
Information and Referral Center
Richmond, VA
(800) 762-6161

To find out centers near you using the NexFrame:

Image-Guided Neurologics
2290 W. Eau Gallie Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32935
(321) 757-8990

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