Presentation
Patient with long-standing Parkinson disease which was refractory to medical treatment.
Patient Data
A battery pack is seen projecting over the right mid hemithorax and 2 leads are seen extending into the neck; these are the pulse generator and the electrodes for the patient's deep brain stimulation (DBS) device.
Case Discussion
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a neurosurgical procedure that implants an electrical stimulator with electrodes targeted to specific areas of the brain. It has been FDA-approved since 1997 as a treatment for Parkinson disease (PD) and essential tremor, then later expanded for dystonia, obsessive-compulsive disorder and epilepsy. In Parkinson disease, the electrodes are placed at the subthalamic nucleus or the globus pallidus interna, increasing dopaminergic input and relieving the patient of Parkinson disease symptoms 2.
Seen here is the pulse generator and the electrodes for a deep brain stimulation system placed for Parkinson disease.
This case was submitted with supervision and input from:
Soni C. Chawla, M.D.
Health Sciences Clinical Professor,
Department of Radiological Sciences,
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
Attending Radiologist,
Olive View - UCLA Medical Center.