Ahmedabad: A 31 year old man suffering from dystonia underwent surgery for deep brain stimulation (DBS) at a city hospital. Doctors said that his recovery is satisfactory.
A neurosurgeon with Sterling Hospital, said that the man had the condition for the past eight years. “In simple terms, dystonia could be understood as a neurophysical condition where the patient experiences twisting of the limbs that makes leading normal life difficult.
DBS could be understood as the device or treatment akin to pacemaker for heart. In this case, the man’s conditions started with difficulty in writing with right hand that later progressed to the entire upper limb, trunk and neck,” he said, adding that it could well be one of the first DBS procedures for dystonia.
Compared to movement disorders such as tremors or Parkinson’s Disease, DBS is relatively rarer, said experts, and has no conventional treatment or medication available. “Early diagnosis and treatment can give some respite to the patients,” said a city-based neurologist.