Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth is the first hospital in the United States to implement a pediatric deep brain stimulation program for children diagnosed with movement disorders.
The hospital's neuroscience team performed its first surgery in Sept., 2007, but the May 2009 surgery on a boy from Lake Dallas could be described as the public debut.
Sam Gladen was diagnosed with dystonia, a movement disorder that causes the muscles to contract and spasm involuntarily. In Sam, it started with a limp in his left and eventually he stopped walking.
Sam's pediatric neurologist at Cook Children's suggested DBS treatment for Sam, but it would require the 13-year-old to be awake during surgery and came with no guarantee of success.
NBC 5 had cameras there from the operating room to the follow up visits and watched as the Gladen family experienced what it describes as a "miracle".
Links:
Cook Children's Neurosciences - Pediatric Deep Brain Stimulation
Dystonia Medical Research Foundation
DFW Dystonia Symposium - January 24, 2009