34-year-old Sudanese man undergoes rare surgery in Chennai hospital

Chennai: City-based MGM Healthcare on Monday said it has 'successfully' performed a deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery on a 34-year-old man from Sudan who was suffering from Wilson's disease for nine years.

The patient recovered well in two weeks, the hospital said in a release.

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The man had been symptomatic with tremors in all four limbs facing difficulty in walking, speaking and swallowing food. The doctors at MGM Healthcare found him to be suffering from Wilson's disease (WD), a genetic illness of copper metabolism leading to abnormal copper accumulation in various organs, including the brain, eyes, and liver. 

A multi-disciplinary team comprising Dr K Sridhar, Director and Group Head, Institute of Neurosciences and Spinal Disorders, MGM Healthcare, and others decided to use a Thalamic target for the procedure – something that has 'rarely' been done in this clinical setting of Wilson's disease.

Dr Sridhar, the Director, said DBS "is a modern, technology-driven surgical procedure that can improve the quality of life of patients." "The patient showed good clinical improvement immediately post-surgery, due to the lesioning effect, and 2 weeks later the stimulator was programmed to deliver appropriate stimulation following which there was a significant improvement. His tremors improved and he is able to ambulate with minimal to no support, though continued to have mild proximal tremors in his right hand," it said. 

Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported that the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research's Advanced Cardiac Centre had done a rare high-risk surgery on a 90-year-old man, the first in the institute's history. A team of doctors under the guidance of Yash Paul Sharma performed a highly complex and lifesaving angioplasty on a patient who was suffering from a weak heart and critical coronary artery disease.

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