The Living with Parkinson's Tip of the Day: Make sure your DBS team is talking behind your back
Normally when people are talking behind your back you should be upset, however in good health care that should be the goal.
For person’s with Parkinson’s disease if you are considering deep brain stimulation therapy, make sure you have an experienced DBS team and that they are meeting and talking behind your back!
Discussions should be occurring on topics such as;
Are you a candidate?
Has everything been tried medically?
Are you stable from a psychiatric standpoint?
Are there other options?
What is the best timing for surgery?
Do you need two leads or just one?
Is it safer to do the operation in one sitting or two?
What effects might you be at higher risk to experience after the operation?
A complete risk benefit profile should be constructed and explained to you before the DBS operation.
In most expert centers you should meet all the members of the DBS screening team (neurology, neurosurgery, psychology, psychiatry, nutrition, social work, rehabilitation) and then they should meet and “behind your back” discuss your case. The team should summarize the discussion and share with you a risk benefit profile for potential DBS therapy.
Read more in the new book by Dr. Okun, Living with Parkinson’s (Robert Rose, 2020).