Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery (DBS)

Movement disorders can affect nearly every aspect of your life, from eating and brushing your teeth to communicating with others. We understand how disruptive these symptoms can be, and we’re dedicated to helping you find relief.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an innovative surgical treatment that can significantly decrease movement disorder symptoms and help you feel like yourself again. Baystate Health is the only medical center in Western Massachusetts offering DBS. Your care is in the hands of highly trained neurosurgeons who have trained at some of the nation’s top programs.

In everything we do, our goal is to help increase your quality of life and well-being. We treat you as an individual with unique needs, and our neurosurgeons, neurologists, and neuropsychiatrists work together to find the right care plan that will lead to the best outcomes for you.

What Is Deep Brain Stimulation?

Deep brain stimulation is a treatment that involves implanting small electric conductors (electrodes) into specific areas of your brain. These electrodes send impulses to the brain signals that control movement. They regulate the nerve signals that can reduce movement disorder symptoms.

A DBS system has three main parts:

1. Electrodes that a neurosurgeon places in specific areas of your brain
2. A battery pack, also called an implantable pulse generator, that the neurosurgeon implants under your skin near your collarbone
3. An insulated wire placed beneath your skin that connects the electrodes to the battery pack

Who Is a Candidate for Deep Brain Stimulation?

Deep brain stimulation may treat movement disorders such as:

• Dystonia
• Essential tremor
• Parkinson’s disease

Many people with movement disorders experience symptom relief with medications. If medications are causing too many side effects or stop working well, DBS may be an option. It offers a more permanent solution to movement disorder symptoms.

Benefits of Deep Brain Stimulation

Deep brain stimulation can offer a life-changing option when medications aren’t relieving your symptoms. The system is also:

• Adjustable: Your neurologist can fine-tune the device settings if your symptoms change over time.
• Reversible: If the procedure doesn’t work or causes unwanted side effects, your neurosurgeon can remove it.

What Happens Before Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery?

Before DBS surgery, you and your neurosurgeon discuss the benefits and risks of DBS. They help you understand your treatment options and answer your questions so you can make the right choice for you.

If you decide to have deep brain stimulation, you get detailed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) scans. These tests help your neurosurgeon “map” your brain so they can determine exactly where to insert the electrodes.

At Baystate Health, we use advanced MRI and CT imaging that provides the greatest level of accuracy during surgery. We also use an intraoperative CT scanner that merges real-time CT scans with your preoperative CT scan. It ensures we precisely follow your brain map when operating. Thanks to this technology, combined with our experience, you can trust our team to deliver the highest-quality care that improves your well-being.

What Happens During Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery?

Deep brain stimulation involves a series of three separate surgeries. The first surgery treats one side of your brain. The second surgery is the exact same procedure, but on the other side of your brain. The third surgery is to place the battery pack.

When you check in at the hospital for your first surgery, we:

1. Shave the hair on your head
2. Give local anesthesia to numb your scalp
3. Attach a stereotactic frame to your scalp to hold your head still
4. Give you general anesthesia so you remain asleep during surgery

Your neurosurgeon then makes incisions in your scalp to reach your brain and place electrodes. When the electrodes are in place, your care team will wake you briefly in the operating room. You will likely feel relaxed and a little drowsy. You may also feel vibrations or dull sensations, but you won’t feel pain.

While you’re awake, your neurosurgeon asks questions and has you move in specific ways. This tests that the electrodes are in the right position.

After your care team has confirmed the electrodes are working, they give you more anesthesia so you go back to sleep. Your neurosurgeon then closes the incisions on your scalp, completing the procedure.

What Happens After Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery?

Deep brain stimulation surgery to place electrodes typically takes about two hours. You spend the night in the hospital for monitoring. The next day, you get imaging scans to make sure the electrodes are correctly placed before you return home.

After you’ve healed from the first surgery, you have a second procedure to treat the other side of your brain. One to two weeks later, you have a third and final procedure to place the battery pack in your upper chest.

Follow-Up After Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery

You see your neurosurgeon after each procedure to monitor your healing. Two to four weeks after your final surgery, you visit your neurologist to turn on and test the DBS system. They will program it to send electrical impulses that control movement disorder symptoms. It may take a few adjustments over several appointments to find the settings that work best for you.