Bengaluru: The medical doctors from Bhagwan Mahaveer Jain Hospital in Bengaluru have efficiently carried out an awake mind surgical procedure on a U.S. guitarist. Curiously, the affected person was allowed to play guitar whereas having mind surgical procedure.
Joseph D’Souza (65), a resident of Los Angeles, suffered the “guitarist’s dystonia”, for which there is no such thing as a recognized treatment. Joseph lived with this situation for near 20 lengthy years, struggling to get this small correction completed in his nerve.
Dr. Sharan Srinivasan, Stereotactic and Purposeful Neurosurgeon, PRS Neurosciences, Bhagwan Mahaveer Jain Hospital, popularly referred to as the “Guitar Surgeon” and Dr. Sanjiv C.C., Senior Neurologist and Motion Problems Specialist, efficiently handled the affected person with guitarist dystonia.
Dr. Sharan Srinivasan mentioned that the MRI-guided, stereotactic neurosurgery is carried out by specialised surgeons known as ‘Purposeful Neurosurgeons’.
“We carried out a Vo Thalamotomy utilizing RF (Radio Frequency) present. This implies ablating or ‘burning’ a circuit contained in the mind. This stay surgical procedure includes the affected person being totally awake all via the complete course of of seven hours – it includes fixing a titanium, stereotactic body to the top, with 2 screws within the entrance and a pair of screws behind the top, screwed into his cranium after which capturing a particular ‘stereotactic MRI’ of the mind,” he said.
“Then, these MRI photos are loaded onto specialised software program whereby the possible ‘misbehaving mind circuit’ is recognized and mapped. As soon as this goal which is deep contained in the mind, within the Vo (Ventralis Oralis) nucleus of the Motor Thalamus has been finalised, and the entry level on the top/ cranium is outlined, the “X-Y-Z co-ordinates” of each the goal and entry level are calculated by the software program,” he mentioned.
He added that in Joseph’s case, the space from the entry level to the goal was 100 mm or 10 cms.
“The second the goal spot was stimulated, Joseph skilled a gentle numbness/ paresthesia within the left 4th and fifth fingers! And these had been his downside fingers! This meant that we had been spot-on with our concentrating on,” he mentioned.
“Then, we made the ‘7 burns’, one after the opposite, alongside three completely different trajectories, every at 70 deg centigrade and 40 seconds, he started experiencing progressive enhancements in his guitarist dystonia and by the fifth burn, he mentioned he was ‘close to regular’! After the surgical procedure, the affected person requires 1-Three months of targeted neuro rehabilitation by an Occupational Therapist skilled to rehabilitate such sufferers and re-train their muscle reminiscence,” Dr. Sharan Srinivasan said.
Joseph D’Souza recounting the expertise said: “Music was life for me. I learnt the guitar as early as six years of age and made it my career. I performed for a famend band on the age of 20 and life was musical. It took me locations and I turned a musician and settled down within the USA.”
“I carried out with among the largest names within the music business and all the things was going effectively until the 12 months 2004. I began going through issue in enjoying the guitar and that was when the world fell aside for me. I had not recognized the symptom by identify at that time of time,” Joseph said.
Joseph developed this situation on his left hand – ring and pinky finger. The fingers would curl into his palm uncontrollably. He had no ache, no numbness, no tingling sensation.
The situation worsened and he was discovered struggling to play easy fundamental chords and good guitar solos had been an enormous problem.
“After four years of struggling, with out even understanding what was happening, I used to be first recognized by a physician at UCLA Los Angeles. He informed me that I had this situation known as Guitarist’s Dystonia, a kind of Activity Particular Focal Hand Dystonia (TSFHD),” Joseph said.
“I bear in mind the phrases of the physician “There isn’t any recognized treatment for it”. Round six years in the past (2017), my buddies shared a video of a guitarist present process surgical procedure for a situation which was similar to mine and it gave me hope,” he remembered.
“I hunted for Abhishek’s contact particulars, managed to get him, spoke to him about my situation and was satisfied that it might work for me too. However I used to be very sceptical of present process mind surgical procedure and therefore delayed it for seven extra years,” mentioned Joseph D’Souza.
