A Minimally Invasive Procedure is Transforming Epilepsy Treatment
April 4, 2024 — EvergreenHealth offers an innovative, minimally invasive procedure called Laser Interstitial Thermal Therapy (LITT) that can be used to ablate lesions that cause epilepsy, benign growths and malformations, and brain tumors. Benefits of LITT for patients include less pain, fewer complications and much shorter recoveries than traditional craniotomy.
"If a patient has a tumor or epilepsy focus deep in their brain, LITT enables us to address it much less invasively than ever before, with far less likelihood of an adverse event. Most patients are out of the hospital and feeling back to normal within one to two days," said Ryder Gwinn, MD, a neurosurgeon at EvergreenHealth.
How does LITT Work?
LITT involves inserting a laser catheter through a small incision (typically about 2 mm) in the skull and guiding it to a specific area in the brain. The tip of the catheter is then heated until the heat destroys the tissue being targeted. LITT was approved by the FDA for neurosurgery in 2007 and is offered at more than 100 centers nationwide.
Gwinn says the contrast between LITT and traditional therapy is stark. "With a traditional craniotomy, a patient would have to spend several days in the hospital, need narcotics to manage the pain and avoid strenuous activities and heavy lifting for six weeks." The advantage for patients who are candidates for LITT, he continued, is minimal pain, a rapid recovery and proven results improving patients' conditions as well or better than craniotomies.
How MRI Improves LITT Safety and Efficacy
Dr. Gwinn performs all LITT procedures in our MRI suite. This enables our neurosurgery team to monitor the procedure and the patient's brain in real time, which helps ensure that we target the correct location and avoid tissue that's essential to protect.
"The MRI enables us to be sure each procedure is as safe and precise as possible," Dr. Gwinn says. "Then, once we're finished, we can immediately use the MRI to confirm that there's no bleeding or other adverse events."
Avoiding the Complications of Traditional Epilepsy Surgery
For lesions that cause epilepsy, LITT can stop seizures with roughly the same success rate as traditional surgery, but with fewer long-term side effects.
"Traditional surgery has historically been the most effective way to stop medically refractory seizures, but it too often impacts other tissue and affects brain function," Dr. Gwinn said. "The literature suggests LITT can be almost as successful at stopping seizures, with a better safety profile."
Dr. Gwinn performed LITT for more than a decade before he joined EvergreenHealth. Now he's excited to bring its benefits to patients in the Eastside community, as part of our effort to continue combining world-class expertise and technology with a care philosophy that puts patients first.
"Our whole care team is oriented around the patient – not around the doctor and not around the therapy," Gwinn said. "In my experience, that's very unique and it's wonderful – it's the best part of being here."
