Laser Procedure Providing Solutions for Those With Epilepsy and Brain Tumors

Patients suffering from epilepsy that can't be controlled by medication or with cancerous brain tumors are benefitting from a procedure performed by neurosurgeons at Memorial Neuroscience Institute. Laser Interstitial Thermal Therapy (LITT) uses heat from laser energy to destroy abnormal cells that cause seizures and form tumors, with the minimally-invasive treatment allowing individuals to go home the next day and resume normal activities within a week.

The approach is in stark contrast to what had been the standard of care, a craniotomy where a section of the skull was removed to access the area of the brain where the problematic cells were located. With LITT, an MRI scan and electrode placement enables surgeons to pinpoint these cells and precisely deliver heat to the targeted tissue through a laser fiber inserted with the help of a robot through a small incision.

"We're a Level 4 epilepsy center and the results we're delivering with LITT are truly life-changing," said Christopher DeMassi, MD, chief of the Memorial Neuroscience Institute. "Epilepsy patients that were unable to drive or go to school because of their seizures are now living normal lives that often don't even require medication."

The technology behind LITT isn't new, but few are using it to treat medication-resistant focal seizures, as Memorial is doing. The procedure is much less painful than an open surgery and requires minimal recovery time. "It will be the new standard of care moving forward," said Dr. DeMassi.

LITT is especially effective for patients with one area of scarring, when tumors are difficult to reach, and in cases where the individual isn't a candidate for surgery. Dr. DeMassi is the primary neurosurgeon on epilepsy cases while his Memorial colleagues, Simon Buttrick, MD and Brandon Davis, MD perform the procedure for brain tumors.