MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release:
August 1, 2019
LONDON, Ontario – A London youth was the first paediatric patient in Ontario to receive a robot-assisted stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG) procedure that was performed by the Paediatric Epilepsy Program at Children’s Hospital at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC). LHSC was previously the first in Ontario to robotically perform the SEEG procedure on adult patients, successfully transferring the knowledge and skill set to the specialized team of paediatric neurosurgeons.
The goal of the surgical procedure, which places electrodes deep into the brain to map epileptic seizure activity, is to determine what part of brain the epileptic seizure activity is coming from. Once the seizure onset is localized, neurosurgeons can determine whether a good seizure outcome may be possible through brain surgery.
Fourteen-year-old Ethan was the first paediatric patient to undergo this robot-assisted procedure in Ontario. His seizures first began at age nine, taking place at night while he slept. Despite efforts to implement non-surgical treatment options, such as multiple anticonvulsant medications, the seizure activity continued to slowly escalate over time and it reached a point where he experienced three straight days of short 15-20 second seizures that were taking place every couple of minutes. It was at this time that Dr. Andrea Andrade, paediatric neurologist and Medical Director of the Paediatric Epilepsy Program at Children’s Hospital at LHSC, made the recommendation that Ethan would be a good candidate for a SEEG procedure.
“We were confident that our partnership with the adult team and our own extensive expertise in performing the traditional technique would allow us to successfully undertake the robotic approach in a paediatric patient and Ethan was a perfect candidate,” says Dr. Andrade. “What would normally be an 8-10 hour surgery can be done in about two hours; and not only are the risks associated with the use of general anesthetic minimized, the diagnostic outcomes are also improved as a result of extremely precise electrode placement.”
Coordinating this paediatric-first procedure involved extra steps as the robotic surgery equipment resided in the adult program at University Hospital (UH), while the specialized paediatric care was located across the city in the Children’s program at Victoria Hospital. The adult and paediatric epilepsy teams worked together to ensure there would be smooth transfers between sites, and on October 4, 2018 Ethan underwent the SEEG procedure at UH. The inpatient monitoring that immediately followed back at Children’s Hospital provided the crucial insight needed to pinpoint the location of the brain where seizures were originating, allowing the paediatric epilepsy team to determine that Ethan was in fact a candidate for brain surgery that would reduce or potentially eliminate seizure activity.
Ethan’s surgery was quickly scheduled to take place so that it could occur at the same time the electrodes from the SEEG procedure would be removed. On October 22, 2018, Ethan had his final surgery at Children’s Hospital.
“Throughout the entire process we knew we were in good hands as we feel there is really no better team in epilepsy than what we have here in London,” says mom, Anita. “We are so grateful to the many teams of individuals at both UH and Children’s who provided care for Ethan and ensured that his voice was always heard at every step. The quality of our lives has truly been changed for the better with this surgical first.”
Ethan has remained seizure free since his October surgery.
The purchase of the Renishaw neuromate® stereotactic robot was made possible through a generous donation to London Health Sciences Foundation.
Dr. Andrade, patient Ethan and his mom Anita will be available to speak with media this morning between 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. Please see media contact info below to arrange an interview.
About London Health Sciences Centre
London Health Sciences Centre has been at the forefront of medicine in Canada for 144 years and offers the broadest range of specialized clinical services in Ontario. Building on the traditions of its founding hospitals to provide compassionate care in an academic teaching setting, London Health Sciences Centre is home to Children’s Hospital, University Hospital, Victoria Hospital, the Kidney Care Centre, two family medical centres, and two research institutes – Children’s Health Research Institute and Lawson Health Research Institute. As a leader in medical discovery and health research, London Health Sciences Centre has a history of over 70 international and national firsts and attracts top clinicians and researchers from around the world. As a regional referral centre, London Health Sciences Centre cares for the most medically complex patients including critically injured adults and children in southwestern Ontario and beyond. The hospital’s nearly 15,000 staff, physicians, students and volunteers provide care for more than one million patient visits a year. For more information visit www.lhsc.on.ca
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For media inquiries contact:
Mandy Gelinas
Corporate Communications and Public Relations
London Health Sciences Centre
519-685-8500, ext. 75157
mandy.gelinas@lhsc.on.ca
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Call LHSC Switchboard at 519-685-8500 and ask to page the communicator on-call
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