The University Children’s Hospital in Zurich, Switzerland recently celebrated treating its tenth neurosurgery patient with focused ultrasound. The patient had suffered for almost ten years from neuropathic pain – pain that originated when a benign brain tumor damaged nerve fibers in his brain which led to extreme pain and cramping in his right arm.
By having the errant cells targeted with magnetic resonance image guided focused ultrasound, the patient was able to have the condition treated without opening up the skull, which would typically be required for such a treatment.
After the procedure, the patient was able to experience full relief from the pain he had endured for so long. “It is really something else when someone stands up from the bed and reports that the pain has gone,” says Ernst Martin, Director of the Magnetic Resonance Centre at University Children’s Hospital.