As part of the inauguration of two operating rooms at the Hospital de Clínicas, the Ministry of Public Health (MSP) presented a pilot plan for deep brain stimulation operations for patients with Parkinson’s disease. The interventions will be financed by the National Resources Fund. The head of the MSP, Daniel Salinas, said that the hospital will be a reference center to address this pathology.
Also participating in the activity were the undersecretary of the portfolio, José Luis Satdjian; the director of the Hospital de Clínicas, Álvaro Villar; the head of the Neurosurgery Chair of that institution, Humberto Prinzo, and the head of the National Brain Health Program, Ignacio Amorin.
Salinas mentioned that they are trying to name this pilot plan Professor Doctor Ricardo Buzo, in homage to the professional who started the Parkinson’s surgery study group in Uruguay.
The work team, which has been working since 2006 and in which the minister participated, has analyzed 440 patients and operated on 48 with complete success. Due to the importance of this procedure, its incorporation into the National Resources Fund is being processed in the coming months.
The hierarch also clarified that the brain health program is part of a series of actions to treat different neuronal pathologies. The objective is to establish the Hospital de Clínicas as a reference center for addressing this problem.
Villar, meanwhile, considered that with this decision the university hospital and the public sector are chosen to develop and promote the most innovative technologies and treatment options for the population.
The surgical block rooms that are inaugurated will be used for cardiac surgeries and neurosurgeries, including the plan for Parkinson’s.
Prinzo explained that deep brain stimulation is a highly complex surgery and that it takes several months to decide which patient is suitable to receive it. He added that it requires the implantation of a very expensive electronic device, which, to be placed in the nuclei of the brain, requires sophisticated equipment.
He also indicated that this type of surgery can be applied to cases of epilepsy, psychiatric disorders and addictions and that 15% of patients with Parkinson’s can access it.
