Deep brain stimulation (DBS)

People who have movement disorders, including Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor and dystonia, often have symptoms that can interfere with life. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a surgical procedure that is used to treat a variety of symptoms, such as tremor, stiffness and slowness caused by these movement disorders.

In this procedure, a thin wire is surgically placed deep in the brain. These wires are connected underneath the skin to a battery in your chest. The battery supplies electricity through the wires into your brain at a very low level. Each patient’s DBS system is adjusted specifically to treat his or her symptoms.

DBS can treat symptoms of the following movement disorders:

• Parkinson’s disease: tremor, slowness and stiffness
• Essential tremor: tremor in the hands and arms and can be effective in treating head tremor
• Dystonia: abnormal contractions in the body

Neurology exam: Our team will evaluate you based on a number of factors to see if you are a candidate for DBS. This is a multi-part evaluation that will include:

• A neuropsychological evaluation which evaluates your thinking and memory function
• On/off testing: a motor test performed by a physical therapist at the Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute to see how your medications affect your movement symptoms

Surgical consult and surgery prep: If you are an appropriate candidate, you will have a surgical consult with the neurosurgeon and an MRI or CT scan to capture images of your brain. Then your surgeon will create images and maps of your brain to help guide the placement of leads during surgery.

Surgery to place the system: There are two parts to the DBS surgery which usually take place on two different days.

• Implanting very thin wires in the brain, which will require an overnight stay in the hospital
• Placing a pacemaker-like battery device, called the neurostimulator, under the skin of the chest, which is an outpatient procedure

Programming the stimulation settings: A few weeks after surgery, your neurologist will turn on the neurostimulator and adjust the stimulation to best control your symptoms while minimizing side effects. It will take a few programming sessions to find the stimulation levels that work best for you. You'll have follow-up visits to check your results and adjust as needed. These appointments are key to getting the results you want over time.

Checkups and ongoing care: The neurologist will:

• Make sure that your DBS system is working properly.
• Adjust your stimulation to best control your symptoms.
• Check the battery of your neurostimulator to see if you will soon need a device replacement.

We offer a collaborative and interdisciplinary approach to serving patients and guide patients through every step of the DBS journey.

Our dedicated DBS staff include:

• Allyson Connor, MD - movement disorder specialist
• Dr. Kyle Nelson, MD - neurosurgeon
• Kelly Mehlhorn, RN - lead nurse navigator
• Kate Manthei, RN - nurse navigator
• Tankia Barnes, CMA - care coordinator