鈥淒r. Mower is a very passionate man, that makes all the difference.鈥
鈥斕齁ennifer, Mom
Wyatt鈥檚 Story
Seizure-Free for the First Time in 18 Years
Thanks to life-changing epilepsy surgery at 乐播传媒 Children鈥檚, Wyatt is finally seizure-free for the first time in 18 years.
Born with tuberous sclerosis complex, a condition that causes the growth of noncancerous (benign) tumors, Wyatt experienced up to 50 to 60 seizures a day as a toddler. After trying several medications, he was implanted with a vagus nerve stimulator (VNS), a treatment for epilepsy that sends electrical pulses to the brain to prevent or shorten the length of seizures.
Wyatt鈥檚 number of seizures dropped, but he continued to experience seizures daily, and suffered from nocturnal seizures every night for eight years. Starting to lose hope that he would ever be seizure-free, Wyatt and his family were introduced to 乐播传媒 Children鈥檚 pediatric neurologist and epileptologist听.
Pinpointing the Origin of the Seizures
鈥淒r. Mower is a very passionate man, that makes all the difference,鈥 says Wyatt鈥檚 mom, Jennifer. 鈥淵ou can tell that he truly cares about Wyatt.鈥 Dr. Mower recognized that the type of seizures he was having had the potential for a cure if the location of exactly where in the brain they began could be found. In July 2021, Wyatt underwent a procedure called stereotactic EEG, where electrodes are placed directly into the brain to record and locate the origin of seizures. Stereotactic EEG found the origin of Wyatt鈥檚 seizures in his right frontal lobe, and that the seizures were caused by one of the lesions (a tuber) caused by tuberous sclerosis.
Wyatt underwent surgery to remove the right frontal lobe of his brain in October 2021, with the skill of 乐播传媒 Children鈥檚 neurosurgeon听听and head of neurosurgery听. In the operating room, Dr. Mower and the epilepsy team, including听听and EEG technologists Sarah Renaud and Lori Jenkins, identified the areas that controlled sensory and motor function of Wyatt鈥檚 right hemisphere, so that Dr. Wu could remove the frontal lobe without causing any permanent neurological problems like weakness.
Post-surgery, Wyatt is seizure free. He recovered quickly and even spoke to his mom right away 鈥 a huge moment for Wyatt and his entire family! Jennifer says Wyatt is more vibrant and so much happier, and his language skills continue to improve. Wyatt lives every day now with a newfound excitement for life. He鈥檚 continuing his journey with 乐播传媒 into adulthood, as he still needs regular checkups and medication to treat his tubular sclerosis. 鈥淎ll of the 乐播传媒 staff we encountered are our saving grace,鈥 says Jennifer. 鈥淚 love 乐播传媒, I love everything about it.鈥
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