Another significant event in Israeli medicine: our specialists have for the first time applied a minimally invasive laser surgery method for epilepsy developed by colleagues in the USA under MRI control.
At the Sourasky (Ichilov) Medical Center in Tel Aviv, a team of doctors, including Dr. Daniel Hayat, a specialist in neurosurgical anesthesia, Dr. Ido Strauss, head of the neuromodulation department in the neurosurgery department, and Dr. Orna Eisenstein, head of the epilepsy treatment department, performed innovative treatment for Ibrahim Samah, a 21-year-old resident of Majdal Shams. The operation was successful, and the patient was discharged home.
The new therapy is intended for patients resistant to medication, for whom the only option previously was open surgical intervention, which could be accompanied by various side effects and complications.
The procedure uses laser interstitial thermotherapy: through a small hole in the skull with a diameter of up to 4 millimeters, an optical fiber is inserted into the center of the epileptogenic focus, and under constant real-time MRI control, the laser beam ablates it. Due to the small incisions and the minimally invasive nature of the operation, the patient can be discharged as early as the next day.
Laser ablation allows surgeons to access deep areas of the brain that are not accessible during open surgery.
The recovery period and the risk of complications are significantly reduced, while the effectiveness of the technology is no worse than traditional methods of surgical treatment for epilepsy.
Highly professional teams in Israel have already been trained in the use of this innovative technique and are ready to apply it in practice.