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Interdisciplinary collaboration is crucial when treating movement disorders. At Renown Outpatient Therapy, the team includes occupational and speech therapists with various specialties at our clinics. This allows us to collaborate daily, if needed, providing the best care possible.”
Kallee Oxborrow, PT, DPT
Physical therapist-advanced at Renown Health
DEEP BRAIN STIMULATION EXPANDS TREATMENT OPTIONS
The Renown Institute for Neurosciences launched a deep brain stimulation( DBS) program in the fall of 2025, bringing a key treatment for movement disorders to northern Nevada and removing the barrier of having to travel out of state to access it. Angelique Tay, MS, MD, a functional neurosurgeon and member of the Renown Health medical staff, performs DBS to treat Parkinson’ s disease, essential tremor, dystonia, epilepsy and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
“ I perform DBS in two stages,” Dr. Tay says.“ The first stage is the placement of bone markers, extension wires and the battery. I place the battery as part of the first stage so I can position the bone markers at the same time, saving the patient a round of anesthesia. The bone markers are important because we build a custom frame for each patient based on the markers’ location and the area of the brain I target for the electrodes.”
The 3D-printed frame, Dr. Tay says, moves with the patient, allowing greater comfort on the operating room table during electrode placement. During the operation’ s second stage, Dr. Tay places the electrodes, which deliver electrical signals to targeted areas of the brain. She listens to the patient’ s brain waves, conducts testing to ensure optimal placement of the conductors and then connects the electrodes to the extension wires and the battery. occupational therapists and speech-language pathologists to treat these complications.”
Measuring and Improving Cognition Neuropsychologists play a key role in managing the effects of movement disorders, which can impact patients’ cognitive abilities.
Early in the care journey, neuropsychologists capture baseline measurements by assessing abilities such as memory and attention. They can then compare these data with subsequent assessment results to gauge whether symptoms are changing over time. Using this information, neuropsychologists can partner with other members of the movement disorders team to adjust care plans to suit patients’ evolving needs.
Neuropsychologists also help determine whether patients are good candidates for specific therapies, such as DBS. Every DBS candidate at Renown Health completes a neuropsychology evaluation to ensure they don’ t have a cognitive or psychiatric disorder that the treatment might exacerbate.
Rehabilitation Therapy’ s Indispensable Role Physical therapists and other rehabilitation professionals are deeply integrated into the movement disorders team, helping patients overcome or adapt to functional deficits. As with neuropsychology, early assessment by a physical therapist is key, says Kallee Oxborrow, PT, DPT, physical therapist-advanced at Renown Health. This evaluation establishes a baseline that enables therapists to better track and alleviate symptoms with personalized treatment plans.
Oxborrow and her rehabilitation therapy colleagues work closely with each other and the other members of the interdisciplinary movement disorders team.
“ I spend up to 90 minutes per week with each patient, which physicians simply aren’ t able to do,” Oxborrow says.“ This affords me more time to identify impairments that patients may not have mentioned to their physicians. I can then contact the physicians to inform them of these findings. With movement disorders, this happens most often regarding medications.”
If, for example, Oxborrow learns a patient is having medication-related symptoms, she can inform Dr. Truong, who may decide to adjust the dosage. This type of close collaboration helps ensure complications don’ t persist unaddressed and allows clinicians to provide optimal treatment, enhancing patients’ independence, mobility and overall functioning.
For referrals to the Renown Institute for Neurosciences, call 775-982-5000.
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