Abu Dhabi doctors save lives of Emiratis with intricate surgery

Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi has carried out UAE’s first deep brain stimulation operations saving the lives of four Emirati nationals from Parkinson’s disease. The surgeries, which each lasted between four and eight hours, took place over just four days following comprehensive evaluations to ensure the patients were good candidates for the surgery. The complex surgery can significantly reduce the symptoms patients experience, reducing their need for medication and improving their quality of life. The electrodes are controlled by a small device implanted under the patient’s skin.

During the surgery, neurosurgeons implant electrodes into precise areas of the brain to block rogue signals that cause motor problems such as tremors. These areas are identified in advance using advanced imaging technologies that inform each patient’s unique surgical plan.

“Deep brain stimulation is a particularly complex endeavor that relies on detailed planning and sub-millimeter precision. Using some of the worlds most advanced imaging techniques, our team can determine the exact areas of the brain causing a patient’s symptoms. Once identified, the challenge is to place the electrode at those precise points through the brain. Each case is unique and dramatically different to most surgeries,” said Dr. Tanmoy Maiti, the neurosurgeon who performed the surgeries at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.

Reflecting the close level of collaboration between colleagues, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s deep brain stimulation program draws on Cleveland Clinic in Ohio’s more than twenty years of experience in the field, performing more than 150 deep brain stimulation surgeries per year. The surgical team received support in the UAE’s first deep brain stimulation surgeries from Dr. Andre Machado who flew to Abu Dhabi from the US for the surgeries. Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, an integral part of Mubadala Health, is the only hospital in the UAE equipped with the requisite technology and infrastructural expertise to offer deep brain stimulation to patients as a team.