Awake Brain Surgery
Nothing better than napping on the couch…
I made it through my surgery and am home recovering with family and dogs. Christmas tree is up, dogs are on the couch, my kids are here for another day, and we woke up to snow on the ground this morning. Life is good.
Many people have asked if it was weird being ‘awake’ during my surgery. The answer is a definitive “yes”. It was the weirdest thing I’ve ever done. Part of it is the slightly dreamlike quality that comes with being drugged. Especially the waves of sedation that came and went as the fabulous anesthesiology team did their work. At one point, I was wheeled down a series of long halls, flat on my back looking up at the ceiling. It started to look like the ceiling was the wall and that all the nurses and tech were hanging sideways off the walls to look at me.
Throughout the actual surgery, Dr. Shervin Rahimpour and his resident (whose name I’ve forgotten) were chatting away behind me as they worked on inserting the DBS. I admit to listening for any sounds of stress from them - but never was there an ‘oops’ or ‘what is that?’ Or any other alarming phrase.
I could see my neurologist, Dr. Panagiotis Kassavetis, as he walked me through the testing of the lead placement. That went well, with one or two minor bits of discomfort as we got to the ‘edge’ of where we needed to be. Then I went under as they did the insertion of the battery, and next thing I know I’m in the recovery room, and then off to my hospital room to see my family and spend the night.
The whole thing, from start to finish was seamless. So many people were there to make sure it all went well. Everyone was calm and methodical - it was easy to see the importance of the senior physicians setting a tone that the rest would follow.
Dr. Rahimpour has been fantastic. Contrary to the stereotype of neurosurgeons, he’s been approachable and thorough, calling me the night before the surgery to answer questions, coming by my hospital room to check on me, and calling me at home to make sure I am healing. He and Dr. Kaassavetis clearly work well together.
The next step is a follow up with Dr. Rahimpour on January 4 and then a visit on January 8 with Dr. Kassavetis to turn the device on and start to tune it. And that is when the real magic will begin - I hope.