How do Parkinson’s patients choose surgical treatment?

  There is no cure for Parkinson’s disease. Initially, patients can take medications and control their symptoms well, but there is a “honeymoon period” for medication, and after about 3-5 years, as the disease progresses, the amount of medication will increase, and a series of side effects and complications will occur, including non-motor symptoms such as hallucinations, sleep disturbances, abdominal distension, nausea and vomiting, lower limb edema, liver damage; motor symptoms such as switch phenomenon, end-of-agent phenomenon, involuntary muscle twitching, allodynia, dance-like movements, etc.  If the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are severe and have affected the patient’s quality of life, surgery can be used at this time. For most patients, the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease can be significantly relieved after surgery, such as disappearance of tremor, relief of limb stiffness, improvement of mood, and better sleep. For example, some patients need the assistance of family members to take a shower in the bathroom before surgery, but after surgery, they can take a shower independently; some patients stay at home for a long time after the disease, while patients who recover well after surgery can walk and jog fast.  The choice of surgical treatment will be advised by the doctor based on the patient’s clinical presentation. For patients with symptoms in both limbs, deep brain electrical stimulation (DBS) is suitable to suppress the overexcitation of brain nerves so that the brain’s regulation of motor function is in a new balance; for patients with unilateral or predominantly unilateral limb symptoms, stereotactic radiofrequency disruption is suitable to reduce the excitability of specific nerve nuclei in the brain by modulating their abnormal excitation with micro-destruction through radiofrequency current. Either procedure can reduce the amount of medication taken and the side effects of medication.  Patients should be fully prepared psychologically once they decide to have the surgery. Understand the minimally invasive treatment process of this procedure and cooperate well. Patients need to stay awake and conversant during the operation, answer the doctor’s questions carefully, and the precise surgery is completed in about an hour.  As we enter the summer, some patients think that the hot weather is not conducive to recovery after surgery. In fact, this is a misconception of habitual thinking. Compared with the previous medical conditions, the medical environment is now superior, maintaining a comfortable temperature 24 hours a day; medical technology is also more advanced, with pre-operative surgical planning, precise positioning and nerve regulation, ensuring surgical safety; today’s summer surgery, its incisions are easier to heal and the chance of post-operative infection is reduced to a minimum. In addition, the summer is sunny and suitable for post-operative rehabilitation exercises, so summer is also the ideal season for Parkinson’s patients to have surgery.