Blitz Bureau
Giving a fresh hope to epilepsy patients, UAE doctors have performed the country’s first stereoelectroencephalography (also known as stereotactic encephalography or SEEG) procedure on an Emirati patient. The procedure was conducted at Cleveland Clinic, Abu Dhabi. It involved the surgical implantation of thin electrodes in the brain to reach areas inaccessible with traditional techniques
The patient on whom it was done was suffering from epilepsy for more than 10 years. After the surgery, the patient was subsequently monitored in a highly controlled environment at the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit for 10 days with the implanted leads in place.
During this time, the patient’s seizures were captured and localised to a specific region in the brain, known as the epileptogenic zone. An electric current was also administered through the implanted leads to trigger the patient’s specific seizures, further supporting the localisation of the area from which the seizures were arising, according to Gulf News.
Dr Florian Roser of the Neurological Institute at Cleveland Clinic said, “If we cannot localise seizures with standard scalp EEG recording or other non-invasive imaging modalities, such as MRI, PET-CT, and ictal SPECT scans, then SEEG is necessary. This involves monitoring seizures from within the brain, as opposed to scalp monitoring. The challenge, however, lies in placing the electrodes deep within the brain without damaging vessels or critical structures. Our advanced software, unique in the UAE, integrates various imaging studies to plan the safest and most effective electrode placement.”
