Robot-assisted brain surgery at LHSC provides hope for people living with epilepsy

There is new hope for patients with epilepsy.

A neurosurgeon at London Health Sciences Centre in London, Ont. has become the first in Canada to perform robot-assisted deep brain stimulation surgery.

“They’ve all been successful, all patients have been able to go home a day or two after the procedure,” said Dr. Jonathan Lau, who practices neurosurgery at LHSC’s University Hospital.

So far he has performed three such surgeries since January.

He likens it to implanting a pacemaker for a bad heart.

“This is the same idea. People with epilepsy have a predisposition to having seizures, so they have irregular rhythms in their brain, in terms of the electrical activity. So same principle applies. An irregular rhythm there, so we put electrodes in the appropriate spots and they can restore function and prevent seizures.”

 The machine employed is a Renishaw Neuromate robot. It’s used for the safe placement of electrodes in hard to reach parts of the brain.

 It was acquired in 2017 through a donation to the London Health Sciences Centre Foundation.

Lau said it was almost by accident that he and his team at University Hospital decided to employ it for this specific use.

“It was actually a fairly routine day when we decided, ‘Okay, because we don’t have the other options let’s use the robot.’ So we inquired a little bit and it turns out nobody had done this for this indication in Canada,” he explained.

According to LHSC, epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders in the world, affecting more than 300,000 Canadians.

And not only is there a stigma around the disease itself, but Lau said there’s also a stigma attached to the very surgery to improve life for those living with it.

Brain surgery can seem scary, but Lau said new technologies actually make it safer.

“With things like robotic assistance, with improvements in imaging, the risks of procedure are much, much lower, and it’s just raising that awareness,” he said.

Lau added that robot-assisted deep brain stimulation surgery is a treatment for some patients who would not otherwise be considered for surgery.