Newswise — HACKENSACK, N.J. – Hackensack Meridian Children’s Health pediatric neurosurgeon Luke Tomycz, M.D., FAANS, working with Dr. Robert Goodman, M.D., PhD, performed the first endoscopic-assisted corpus callosotomy surgery done at Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital to treat a nine-year-old patient with epilepsy.
Corpus callosotomy is a neurosurgical procedure that involves cutting a band of fibers in the brain called the corpus callosum, which carries messages between the brain's two hemispheres (halves). Cutting the fibers prevents seizure signals from traveling between the brain’s two halves, making seizures less frequent and severe - and, in some cases, stopping them altogether.
Hackensack Meridian Children’s Health has been at the forefront of pioneering innovations in pediatric epilepsy treatment. From the study of the use of nasal sprays as rescue seizure medication to the implantation of the first responsive neurostimulation (RNS) device in a patient to
treat drug-resistant epilepsy, researchers and physicians are working to provide patients and their families with cutting-edge treatment options as they work to find curative treatment for the neurological disease.
Traditional corpus callosotomy procedures involve removing a large piece of the skull and peeling back the dura — the membrane that protects the brain — during a craniotomy procedure. After the corpus callosotomy is complete, the dura and skull are replaced, and the skull bone is secured with small titanium plates. During the patient’s endoscopic-assisted corpus callosotomy performed at Joseph M. Sanzari, Dr. Tomycz used a thin, flexible tube with a light and camera at the tip called an endoscope. “While corpus callosotomy is the oldest surgical procedure to treat medically-refractory epilepsy (MRE), the use of an endoscope during the procedure allows for improved visualization, smaller incision, and smaller craniotomy,” said Dr. Tomycz.
Epilepsy is a neurological disorder caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain. This abnormal electrical activity results in recurrent seizures that can range in severity and frequency. Although medications may effectively control seizures in some people, they do not work for everyone and may cause side effects. More than one-third of people with epilepsy have “drug-resistant” seizures that do not respond to medication and surgical treatments should be considered.
Before her surgery, the nine-year-old patient, who traveled from Kansas to New Jersey with her family to have the surgery, had up to 20 generalized seizures a day, occurring on both sides of her brain. After surgery, the patient’s seizure frequency has been reduced by more than half.
“Our team offers the latest treatment options for epilepsy, including clinical trials, medications, and advanced surgical options,” said Judy Aschner, M.D., physician-in-chief for Pediatrics at Hackensack Meridian Children’s Health. “Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital has the only pediatric Epilepsy Monitoring Unit in New Jersey, making it a place of hope, comfort, compassion and expert care for children and families from across the region who are managing complex, rare, or drug-resistant epilepsy syndromes.”
“Dr. Tomycz and our team of pediatric neurosurgeons and epileptologists are raising the bar on surgical and nonsurgical epilepsy treatment,” said Mark Sparta, FACHE, president and chief hospital executive, Hackensack University Medical Center. “Through their innovative research and groundbreaking treatments, our team is improving quality of life for children and families affected by seizure disorders.”
“This is another great example of a physician pushing the scientific envelope with their expertise and skill, to benefit a patient in need,” said Ihor Sawczuk, M.D., FACS, chief research officer and president of the Northern Region for Hackensack Meridian Health.
Learn more about pediatric epilepsy services at Hackensack Meridian Children’s Health: https://www.hackensackmeridianhealth.org/services/pediatrics/epilepsy-services/.
Hackensack Meridian Children’s Health Epilepsy Program
The specialists at Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital at Hackensack University Medical Center and K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital at Jersey Shore University Medical Center provide treatment for the full spectrum of neurological conditions, from the most rare to the complex, for children newborn to young adults. Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital was ranked number one in New Jersey in the most recent U.S. News Best Hospitals Report. Recent innovations in epilepsy surgery include the implantation by Arno Fried, M.D. of a responsive neurostimulation device in another child with epilepsy as well as a significant increase in the volume of minimally invasive stereo-EEG cases with nearly 10 such operations performed at Hackensack in 2021.
About Hackensack Meridian Children’s HealthHackensack Meridian Children’s Health provides the most comprehensive and highest level of quality care to young patients in the state of New Jersey. The children’s network is comprised of two children’s hospitals – Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital at Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack and K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune – and a large network of pediatric subspecialists and pediatricians. Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital was ranked #1 in New Jersey in the U.S. News & World Report 2021-22 Best Children’s Hospital Report. Hackensack Meridian Children’s Health hospitals are the only two in New Jersey to be ranked among the top 50 in the nation for pediatric cancer by U.S. News & World Report. Visit www.hackensackmerdianhealth.org/kids for more information about Hackensack Meridian Children’s Health.
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