Patient's seizures stop after 'game-changing' surgery

The Walton Centre in Liverpool

A "game-changing" laser surgery which has already prevented epileptic seizures in some patients is set to be rolled out across England next month.

The therapy, which uses a tiny laser inside a probe in the skull enables doctors to destroy brain tissue causing seizures.

Known as Laser Interstitial Thermal Therapy (LITT), the treatment is more precise and less risky than normal brain surgery and patients recover quicker, NHS England said.

Laura Diable, 39, from Birkenhead, who was one of the first patients to have the procedure nearly a year ago during a pilot at The Walton Centre in Liverpool, said since the procedure she had not had one seizure.

'World-leading technology'

"It’s made a huge difference to my quality of life," she said.

“Before, the seizures were incapacitating me, leaving black spots in my memory.

"Thanks to LITT I’ve been able to get on with my life and worry less about my epilepsy – I can’t thank the team at The Walton Centre enough.”

NHS England estimates up to 50 patients in England each year whose epilepsy cannot be controlled by standard anti-seizure drugs will be eligible for LITT.

The treatment will be available for eligible patients across England from June, at specialist national hubs at The Walton Centre in Liverpool and King’s College Hospital in London.

'Ground-breaking care'

NHS England’s medical director for specialised services and a consultant neurosurgeon, James Palmer, said: “This laser beam therapy is game-changing for patients and will offer new hope on the NHS to those for whom standard drugs are not effective in controlling their seizures.

“Not only will this world-leading technology help replace invasive surgery for patients, which can have a huge impact take months to recover from, it will also allow clinicians to better target the parts of the brain causing the epilepsy, which dramatically reduces the risks and helps cut patients’ recovery time both in and out of hospital."

Medical director and deputy CEO at The Walton Centre Dr Andy Nicolson said he was "delighted" to be able to offer patients with drug-resistant epilepsy "this vital service".

Consultant neurosurgeon Mr Jibril Osman Farah and the,lead clinician delivering treatment at The Walton Centre, said it was "fantastic" to be able to offer LITT to more patients.

“We’re excited to build this service at The Walton Centre and deliver ground-breaking care for patients,” he said.