New treatment for epilepsy: Wadia hospital reduces 11-year-old boy’s epileptic fits

MUMBAI: An 11-year-old boy who used to suffer around 250 epileptic attacks a day has undergone a relatively new surgical treatment that has reduced the episodes to less than 10 a day, said his parents who live in Palghar.

The vagal nerve stimulator technique was performed at Wadia Hospital, Parel, in May 2018. 

Krishna Kini has had two previous epilepsy surgeries that failed to control his fits, prompting the need for the new procedure. “The previous surgeries only provided relief for few months and the seizures returned,” said his father, Dhiraj Kini.

Krishna used to fall on his face over 50 times a day due to the seizures, forcing his mother, Surekha, to literally stay around him 24x7. “We have hope that the new surgery will help our son get control of his movements,” said Dhiraj

Doctors at Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital for Children said Krishna who was suffering from a rare disease, Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy observed at early childhood and affects two per 100,000 children annually. Krishna has been under treatment of neurologist, Dr Shilpa Kulkarni, since he was a few months old. Krishna had taken multiple anti-epileptics drugs, put on a ketogenic diet, but in vain.

Due to complications at birth, doctors told the couple he has severe retardation. The mother left her job as a teacher while the father works in a private firm in Boisar.

“We heard about the new technique in 2015 and thought we would organise funds from family and friends to take our son to US,” said the father. But as the stimulator needs to be modulated for the right input over months, the family decided they would not be able to manage.

In February, Dr Shilpa Kulkarni told the family the surgery could be done at Wadia. While the hospital raised around Rs 5 lakh for the device, the family had to spend a few lakhs.

The procedure entails placing a device that sends mild pulses to the Vagus nerve, one of the longest in the body, at regular intervals throughout the day to prevent seizures. “The vagus nerve fibres are thought to increase blood flow and metabolism in regions of the brain associated with onset of epileptic seizures,” said neurosurgeon Saurav Sumantray.

A part of the device was fixed in the chest (under the skin), while the main electrodes are wound around the vagus nerve behind the carotid artery, which supplies blood to the brain. Over six months, doctors have been increasing the current (stimulus) so that his seizures reduce to around seven a day.

“Luckily, the therapy helped reduce seizure severity, duration of seizures, improved mental functioning, mood and behaviour,” said the doctors. The Kinis hope Krishna will improve enough to walk on his own. “It will be great if he can accompany my wife around, be it to the marketplace or the local garden.”

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