The Catalyst Issue 25 | September 2016 | Page 9

DBS Leads Extension wire Neurotransmitter (Battery pack) suffering from Parkinson’s since her late 40s. “She said she felt like she was alive again,” he says. One week after surgery, Dr. Jeevan implants a battery pack and control device for the electrode, called an implantable pulse generator, within the patient’s chest. The electrode in the brain is connected to this battery pack with wires beneath the skin. This is an outpatient procedure that lasts from 30 to 45 minutes. After patients have sufficiently recovered from these Watch Luetta’s story: https://youtu.be/p-mD90vug14 procedures, Dr. Soileau turns on the control device and programs it to send the correct pulse to the electrode in the brain. As Dr. Soileau adjusts the signal via a remote control, the patient’s symptoms cease. “Some patients describe they feel like a weight has been lifted or that they’re not moving through molasses,” he says. “As they leave after the programming session, they have a new way of life to get used to.” Dr. Jeevan believes DBS will become more widespread in the future as research efforts continue for its use in other conditions such as epilepsy, obsessive compulsive disorder, depression, and the tics associated with Tourette’s syndrome. One thing that’s clear is that all patients at the Neuroscience Institute benefit from the collaboration and expertise of clinicians and staff. They can trust that they’ve got the best care by their side. “We’re lucky here at Baylor Scott & White Health - Central Texas that we have a Neuroscience Institute that has multiple divisions and multiple subspecialties where we can offer these patients very comprehensive neurological care,” says Dr. Soileau. n For more than 40 years, Luetta Mahavier, 85, suffered from essential tremors that severely limited her quality of life. “I stopped going out to eat because I couldn’t control a fork,” she says. DBS helped Luetta regain control of her life. “My hands weren’t shaking anymore,” she says, “and now I can do all these things.” Gold Plus Elite Award in stroke care rewards integration among departments A Comprehensive Stroke Care certification also seeks a high level of integration of all departments that treat stroke patients, including neurology, emergency care, and intensive care. Dr. Rasmussen already knows Scott & White Memorial Hospital - Temple boasts that level of integration. In May the center received a Gold Plus Elite award from the American Heart Association. “What I’m most proud of,” she says, “is our Gold Plus Elite award, which is the highest quality award the American Heart Association gives out. The only way you get this kind of award is when you have a high amount of integration among the emergency department, neurology, the floor doctors, and the ICU doctors, and the radiologists—who all work really hard to get patients treated and seen very quickly.” sw.org | Fall 16 THE CATALYST 9