“The treatment is yet another example of how the NHS continues to deliver on its NHS Long Term Plan commitment to secure the latest medical innovations for patients while also using our commercial means to ensure value for money”.Ĭurrently one in three people with epilepsy are not able to control their seizures with drugs alone and may require invasive neurosurgery to remove the epilepsy-causing part of the brain.Īround one in 100 people suffer with epilepsy and there are around 600,000 people living with the condition across the UK. “By replacing invasive neurosurgery with a cutting-edge laser therapy, allowing clinicians to better target the parts of the brain causing the epilepsy, we not only dramatically reduce risks to these patients, but drastically reduce their recovery time both in and out of hospital. NHS national medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis said: “This pioneering laser beam treatment for epilepsy patients is life-changing and will offer hope to hundreds of people every year who have not had success in preventing seizures with traditional drugs. This is the latest example of the NHS delivering on the Long Term Plan commitment to ensure patients across the country have access to the latest and most effective treatments available. The small wound heals quickly meaning patients can go home the next day with minimal risk of infection or other side effects and can return to their usual work and activities within a week. The laser requires just a 1.5mm-wide probe into the skull with the fibre optic laser at the tip of the probe reaching and destroying the epilepsy-causing brain tissue from the inside by heating it.Ĭarried out in an MRI scanner, the clinical team accurately navigate through the brain avoiding blood vessels and other critical structures, and can monitor the temperature of the surrounding areas to ensure healthy brain tissue does not overheat. Offering hope to thousands of current and future NHS patients, the cutting-edge laser treatment, targets the part of the brain that is causing the seizures without the need for invasive surgery.Ī nationwide first, the treatment will benefit up to 150 NHS patients every year with the first surgeries set to take place in early 2023. A world-leading, fibre optic laser therapy for people suffering with epilepsy who have not responded well to other forms of treatment will be rolled out on the NHS.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |