Oklahoma City-based Oklahoma Children's Hospital OU Health performed the world's first robotic deep brain stimulation procedure on a pediatric patient and saw immediate improvement in the child's motor function.
The 8-year-old girl suffers from rapid-onset primary dystonia, a movement disorder that causes the muscles to react involuntarily, according to a June 11 system news release. The girl was paralyzed and could not eat, walk or sit up on her own. After medications failed to improve her symptoms, Bethany (Okla.) Children's Health Center and Oklahoma Children's Hospital partnered to find a more effective treatment.
They decided on deep brain stimulation, a surgical technique that implants electrodes into specific brain regions. It is traditionally used to treat movement disorders but previously had never been performed robotically on pediatric patients.
The surgery was performed by Oklahoma Children's Hospital clinicians with postoperative care at Bethany Children's. After the procedure, the girl was able to lower and relax her arms within minutes. Her movements also became more controllable and her verbalization showed improvement.
"We are thrilled to have achieved this milestone," Amber Stocco, MD, a pediatric neurologist and the medical director of child and adolescent neurology at Bethany Children's, said in the release. "Our young patient is already showing promising results, and we hope this procedure will pave the way for more pediatric DBS cases worldwide."