is the destruction of a small portion of the brain within the globus pallidus internus, or GPi. The GPi helps control voluntary movements.
Pallidotomy is performed in the hospital by a neurosurgeon, in coordination with the patient's neurologist.
For unilateral pallidotomy, a single "burr hole" is made in the top of the skull; bilateral pallidotomy requires two holes.
Pallidotomy mimics this action by permanently destroying the GPi cells.
The key to successful outcome in pallidotomy is extremely precise placement of the electrode.
In a pallidotomy, the globus pallidus is destroyed by heat, delivered by long thin needles inserted under anesthesia
Unilateral (one-sided) pallidotomy may be used if symptoms are markedly worse on one side or the other, or if the risks from bilateral (two-sided) pallidotomy are judged to be too great.
If bilateral pallidotomy is being performed, the localizing and lesioning will be repeated on the other side.
Pallidotomy takes several hours to perform. In some medical centers, pallidotomy is performed as an outpatient procedure, and patients are sent home the same day. Most centers provide an overnight stay or longer for observation and recuperation
A pallidotomy is a neurological procedure whereby a tiny electrical probe is placed in the globus pallidus and heated in order to destroy a small area of brain cells.
Those who are very elderly, demented, or with other significant medical conditions that would be compromised by surgery are usually not candidates for pallidotomy.
Pallidotomy is major surgery on the brain. It may cause excessive bleeding, and care must be taken in patients susceptible to uncontrolled bleeding or who are on anticoagulant therapy.
Pallidotomy uses an electrical current to destroy a small amount of brain tissue in the globus pallidus, which is over-stimulated by the corpus striatum in PD.