Wockhardt Hospitals, the JCI accredited Hospital in Mumbai, again takes an initiative to care for patients suffering from Parkinson's disease (PD). Dr. Paresh Doshi and his team successfully perform the first DBS (Deep Brain Stimulation) surgery at Wockhardt Hospitals, thus providing the much needed relief to the patient and family members.

Parkinson's disease is one of the commonest movement disorder characterized by paucity of movements, tremors, unsteady gait and stiffness. Over a period of time as the disease advances the medicines become less effective and start giving side effects called dyskinesias. It is at this time the surgery comes in to picture. With the help of surgery considerable relief can be given to severely disabled patients suffering from PD.

Dr. Doshi says that the patient at Wockhardt hospitals is Mrs. Mehta (Name changed), a 71 years old female suffering from PD for the last 10 years. The disease had progressed to such a stage where she was considerably handicapped even in the activities of daily living, like walking, dressing and eating food. Besides this, she used to hallucinate a lot and had frequent episodes of depression. The rigidity in her body had increased to such an extent that even the caretakers were finding it difficult to manage her. Her condition could not be improved despite best medical treatment. It was at this stage that they consulted Dr. Paresh Doshi at Wockhardt Hospitals who decided to perform DBS surgery on the patient. As this family resided in Mulund they were very hesitant to travel for treatment to south Mumbai. They were very happy to know that this facility would now be available at Wockhardt Hospitals.

In Deep Brain Stimulation surgery, an electrode is implanted in to the brain to selectively inhibit a group of cells responsible for the symptoms. Dr. Doshi says that surgery should be considered in patients of Parkinson' disease when patient's have uncontrolled tremors, and have drug related side effects, as seen in advanced Parkinson' disease. It is also helpful for patients who have either left their jobs or who are at the risk of leaving their job/work due to Parkinson' disease. Dr Doshi says that though the selection of the right patient is extremely important, there is no age limit for surgery. In carefully selected patients, surgery has always been successful and the positive results of the operation are seen immediately. He also points out that the surgery is safe and has virtually no side effects. The risks of complications are less than 2%.

Dr. Doshi highlights that, with DBS surgery patient experiences instantaneous improvement in his Parkinson' disease symptoms, for e.g. if he is suffering from tremors the tremors stop. This patient who underwent the DBS surgery at Wockhardt hospitals was performed under local anesthesia, i.e. with the patient fully awake during the operation. This helps in assessing the benefit during the surgery itself. At the end of surgery, Mrs. Mehta was completely relieved of her stiffness, had a good sleep and since then has been free from hallucinations. The relatives now find it very easy to handle her. Her walking is getting better as she recovers from the operative stress. She was discharged from the hospital on the 10th postoperative day.

Dr. Karanjekar, Associate VP and head Wockhardt hospitals says, "Parkinson's disease surgery is a highly demanding and precise neurosurgical operation. It not only requires exceptional skills and training, but also requires sophisticated instruments. I feel satisfied and happy that we have provided these services at Wockhardt hospitals, for the benefit of patients from central suburbs and beyond."

By making this unique surgery available, Wockhardt Hospitals has again kept patient benefit in the forefront, especially for the people of central suburbs of Mumbai and beyond.