How does Treatment Brainstorming with Electricity?

Seizures also result in a quick change in the electrical activity of brain nerve cells, similar to how lightning storms create unexpected variations in electricity.

Many medications can be used to treat seizures or disruptions in brain cell electrical activity, and in many situations, taking regular medications can help avoid epileptic seizures. Others, however, might find that medication is ineffective even when greater dosages and combinations are prescribed. With these, the risks of taking potent anti-seizure drugs may outweigh the benefits. As a result, in these kinds of circumstances, continuing two different drugs for at least two years is regarded as having refractory or medically intractable epilepsy.

Comprehensive epilepsy/functional neurosurgery program at the Brain Hospital in Punjab offers a range of surgical techniques to control seizures and improve quality of life.

The top three surgical therapies for epilepsy that patients can receive at Neurosurgeon in Ludhiana are resection brain surgery, vagal nerve stimulation, and brain stimulation. Each procedure has benefits and drawbacks.

How does Vagal Nerve Stimulation (VNS) work and what is it?

The vagus nerve is one of the 12 pairs of cranial nerves that leave the brain and go through the neck, chest, and abdomen.

Vagus nerve stimulation therapy (VNS) is a method of treating epilepsy that involves implanting a stimulator that is similar to a pacemaker and connecting it to the left vagus nerve in the neck. A stimulator regularly delivers brief, small electric stimulations to this nerve to minimize the irregular electrical brain activity that leads to seizures.

What is the benefit of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS)?

After vagus nerve stimulation, the majority of patients report that their quality of life has improved and they are more concerned about when their next seizure will happen than they were before. Overall, the patients noticed a decrease in the length and severity of the seizures as well as an increase in the time between each subsequent episode. VNS is a safe complementary therapy that has been shown to significantly improve the quality of life in 60% of patients and their families. Additionally, VNS can be applied to depression that has resisted treatment.

Is Vagal Nerve Stimulation (VNS) an option for me?

VNS therapy is generally recommended if you have tried several AEDs but they have not completely controlled your seizures and if you are not a candidate for brain surgery or do not want it.

About Brain Hospital in Punjab When refractory epilepsy is identified, patients are given surgical alternatives after being reviewed by an epileptologist. Patients are assessed by a clinical neuropsychologist, a functional neurosurgeon, and other team members once they consent to one of the surgical alternatives and select VNS to determine whether they are fit for surgery or not.

What is the process for implanting vagal nerve stimulation (VNS)?

A neurosurgeon performs the treatment, which usually takes 45 to 90 minutes and is most frequently done when the patient is under general anesthesia after the patient receives preoperative antibiotics on the day of surgery.

The operation requires two tiny incisions. On the upper left side of the chest, near the pulse generator, the first one is produced. A second incision is made horizontally on the left side of the lower neck, following a skin fold. Electrodes are placed by meticulously wrapping electrode spirals around the vagus nerve.

Are Vagal Nerve Stimulation (VNS) risks and complications?

VNS is not recommended for people with one vagus nerve, cardiac abnormalities, gastric or duodenal ulcers, fainting disorders, or pre-existing hoarseness. The most typical side effects of stimulation are hoarseness, increased coughing, voice alterations, soreness in the throat, and muscular twitching or motions that normally go away with time. The most frequent symptoms are hoarseness, coughing, throat tickling, and shortness of breath, and they are typically transient. Furthermore, anti-epileptic medications do not affect VNS.