A Scottish teenager with epilepsy has undergone breakthrough surgery to remove pieces of his brain and is seizure-free for the first time in 13 years, according to his mother.
Angus Bain, 17, has suffered seizures at least once a week for the rest of his life, but doctors are confident he will be free of the debilitating condition after he became one of the first patients in the UK to undergo the new laser surgery, SWNS reports.
Trailblazing surgery removes brain tissue that causes seizures. Ten weeks later, Angus has not had a single incident.
“Our lives have been consumed with Angus’s epilepsy since he was 5,” his mother, Nicki Bain, from Gateside, Fife, told the outlet.
“He’s been on a lot of really heavy medication, had wires in his head, brain stimulation, so many tests and scans.”
Angus Bain, 17, has been seizure-free for 10 weeks after undergoing rare laser surgery in October. Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity / SWNS Bain was diagnosed with epilepsy when he was 4 years old. Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity / SWNS Bain is only the second young person in Scotland to undergo the operation. Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity / SWNS
“I can’t put into words what it means to him, and all of our family, for him to be seizure free for Christmas this year,” she said.
Angus received the procedure at Edinburgh Children’s Hospital in October. The innovative laser technology — known as MRI-guided Laser Interstitial Thermal Therapy (LITT) — is minimally invasive and the surgery takes less than two hours with a relatively short recovery time, according to SWNS.
“Laser surgery is a great development for certain patients and will give those with epilepsy a real chance to live a normal life,” said Dr. Jothy Kandasamy, a neurosurgeon at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People, told the outlet.
“The surgery has been life-changing not just for Angus, but for the whole family,” he added.
The teenager is only the second young person in Scotland to undergo the operation.
Roslyn Neely, CEO of Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity, said she was “encouraged by the life-changing impact laser surgery has had for Angus.”
Nicki Bain said “her son’s future looks so bright, and we are so proud and excited for him.”
The teenager said he hoped to one day get a driving licence, play rugby or ski, things that were too risky for him to do pre-surgery.
“I wish I could go to a party with my friends. I see photos of all my friends together and I’m jealous because I can’t go but they can,” she sadly told BBC Scotland News.
Although checking that off his list may take some time as he continues to recover, Angus is thrilled with the results so far.
“I have never gone so long without a seizure, it was an amazing relief. I am very happy.”
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
