Christine's Story
December 3, 2019Christine Lives Seizure-Free After New Laser Treatment
Christine Maalouf has been fighting epilepsy for half of her life. Christine was a freshman in high school when her right hand suddenly went numb, occasionally spreading to her lips and affecting her speech. She began to have at least one episode of numbness in her right hand every day, sometimes several. Her condition escalated, and she had two grand mal seizures where she lost consciousness and had convulsions before being diagnosed with epilepsy in 2004.
“Epilepsy affects one percent of the population in the United States and is defined by recurrent seizures, which can come in many different types. It’s a very treatable condition,” said Gregory Mathews, MD, neurology and epileptology, Holy Cross Hospital and Holy Cross Germantown Hospital, and medical director, Epilepsy Monitoring Unit, Holy Cross Hospital.
For most people with epilepsy, seizures can be controlled with medication. But for a fraction of the population, medication doesn’t bring relief. “At Holy Cross Health, our epilepsy center has the expertise to treat any type of epilepsy, even medication-resistant epilepsy,” Dr. Mathews said.
When It's Time to Consider Your Options
By the time Christine met with Dr. Mathews, she had tried many medications, none of which helped control her seizures and had debilitating side effects. She wanted to explore other treatment options.
Holy Cross Health offers one of the region’s most sophisticated diagnostic and treatment services for people with epilepsy and other seizure disorders.
Holy Cross Health’s neuroscience program brings together specialized neurologists, called epileptologists, with a multidisciplinary team of neurosurgeons, neurologists, neuroradiologists and others to deliver the right treatment option for each patient, including innovative surgical options.
At Christine’s initial appointment, Dr. Mathews reviewed her MRI and identified an abnormal area in one section of her brain, called a dysplasia. He then called in Zachary Levine, MD, medical director of Neurosurgery and Neuroscience, Holy Cross Health, who agreed with Dr. Mathews’ assessment that the dysplasia seemed to be responsible for Christine’s seizures and might be cured with a new treatment.
First to Offer New Epilepsy Treatment
“Epilepsy surgery is usually an hours-long open operation during which the patient is often awake so that we can identify the seizure focus. But now, we are able to offer laser interstitial thermal therapy, called Visualase®, a much less invasive procedure,” Dr. Levine said. “Holy Cross Hospital is the first hospital in the region to offer this technology.”
With Visualase, a tiny fiber optic thread directs laser energy to the precise part of the brain responsible for the patient’s seizures. The laser energy heats the tissue and destroys it, a technique called ablation. Once the problem area is ablated, the thread is removed.
Before Christine’s surgery, the team used a specialized MRI scan to map her brain and ensure they could reach the area responsible for the seizures without damaging the ability to use her hands.
During the procedure, Dr. Levine drilled a 3-millimeter hole into Chris-tine’s skull and advanced the fiber optic thread into her brain. Then, she was moved from the operating room into the MRI scanner, where Dr. Levine performed the ablation. Once complete, he closed the hole in Christine’s skull with a single stitch. The entire process took less than 90 minutes.
Life Without Seizures
Christine went home the day after her surgery and was back at work within a week. “The seizures seem to have completely stopped,” Christine said. “Over 15 years, I tried many doctors, and tons of medications, before I found the right answer at Holy Cross Health.”