Israeli Doctors Revive Woman From Three-Month Coma With Novel Brain Surgery
Translated & summarized from Arutz Sheva by baba
Israeli doctors at Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center successfully treated a 33-year-old mother of four who had been in a coma for three months due to severe epilepsy. Using a novel deep brain stimulation surgery, they were able to disrupt the abnormal brain activity and restore her to consciousness.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Woman awakens after three months in a coma following novel brain surgery.
- Deep brain stimulation system implanted to treat severe, continuous epilepsy.
- Advanced brain mapping identified seizure sources across both hemispheres.
- Patient had previously suffered cardiac arrest and failed to respond to other treatments.
- Doctors hailed the procedure as a rare and innovative success.
A groundbreaking surgical procedure has brought a 33-year-old mother of four back to full consciousness after three months in a coma, following a severe and prolonged epileptic condition. The woman, identified only as 'A', had been living a healthy and active life, working full-time and completing her academic studies with honors, before falling ill with a high fever.
Her condition rapidly deteriorated, leading to seizures and cardiac arrest en route to the hospital. Doctors diagnosed her with severe, continuous epileptic seizures, a life-threatening condition requiring induced coma and ventilation. Despite extensive treatment at another hospital, including high-dose anti-epileptic drugs, biological therapies, and a vagus nerve stimulator, her condition did not improve.
She was transferred to Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center, where a multidisciplinary team of specialists from anesthesiology, intensive care, neurology, and neurosurgery was assembled. After weeks of evaluation, doctors opted for an advanced invasive brain mapping procedure, implanting thin electrodes deep within her brain to pinpoint the exact sources of the electrical activity causing the seizures. This revealed an extensive network across both hemispheres feeding the seizures.
Based on these findings, the team performed a novel surgery to implant a deep brain stimulation (DBS) system, typically used for movement disorders like Parkinson's, into her brain. The system delivers precise electrical impulses to disrupt abnormal activity and stabilize neural networks. This application for such extreme epilepsy is considered highly rare and complex.
Within days of activating the DBS system, a dramatic decrease in abnormal brain electrical activity was observed. Gradually, the sedative medications were stopped, and 'A' began to regain consciousness. She started recognizing her loved ones and initiating basic communication, with her husband noting her significant improvement within a week of the surgery. Doctors described the case as exceptionally rare with very low recovery odds, attributing her revival to a combination of advanced technology and innovative thinking by the medical team.
