NHS unveils ‘ground breaking' non-invasive epilepsy treatment
24 Oct 2022
NHS leaders have hailed as ‘ground breaking’ a new non-invasive surgery for epilepsy.
The fibre optic laser therapy is due to come into use within the national health system from early next year.
Developed for sufferers who have not responded sufficiently to traditional forms of treatment, it will initially benefit an estimated 150 people annually.
NHS medical director for specialised services Professor James Palmer commented: “This innovative laser therapy is a game-changing breakthrough for patients who have not had success with traditional forms of treatment to control their seizures and will give those with epilepsy a real chance to live a normal life.”
Surgery is currently offered to an estimated one in 60 sufferers, although the number whose seizures cannot be controlled by drugs alone is much greater in number.
Traditional methods are invasive and involves operating on the skull and brain. The NHS says this involves a week-long stay in hospital and a further three months’ home recovery with consequent infection and pain risks.
The new treatment requires 1.5mm-wide probe with fibre optic laser tip into the skull destroying epilepsy-causing brain tissue from the inside by heating it.
Performing it in an MRI scanner enables avoidance of blood vessels and other critical structures and permits temperature monitoring. Patients can leave hospital after one day with substantially less risk of infection and can return to normal activities within a week.
NHS delivering on the Long Term Plan commitment to ensure patients across the country have access to the latest and most effective treatments available.
NHS national medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis described the treatment as ‘life-changing’ and added it would bring hope to hundreds of people every year whose seizures cannot be prevented with traditional drugs.
“By replacing invasive neurosurgery with a cutting-edge laser therapy, allowing clinicians to better target the parts of the brain causing the epilepsy, we not only dramatically reduce risks to these patients, but drastically reduce their recovery time both in and out of hospital,” he said.
The laser treatment is one of seven recommendations for effective treatments made by the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group (CPAG) accepted by NHS England in order to improve patient service.
Info:
- Number of people in UK suffering from epilepsy: 0.6 million (one in 100)
- Proportion unable to control seizures with medication: one in three
- Candidates for conventional surgery: 10,000
- Proportion expected to proceed with conventional surgery: one in 10
