Golden Scalpel for the First MRgFUS Operation in Russia

MRgFUS – the complex work of a large team. Undoubtedly, “First violin ” – this is neurosurgeon Rezida Maratovna Galimova

But the procedure is impossible without the coordinated work of administrators, radiologists and MRI-technicians, neurologists, nurses, and technical staff.  Curators – both Russian and international – are ready to participate during challenging moments, always in touch and also involved in the process.
We are pleased that the Association of Surgeons of Bashkortostan highly appreciated this team effort, which helps to eliminate severe neurological pathology.

Operation: Non-invasive thalamotomy using MRI-guided focused ultrasound for a patient with Parkinson’s disease

Team:

1. V.S. Buzaev International Medical Centre Intelligent Neurosurgery Clinic, Ufa

Rezida Maratovna Galimova – operating neurosurgeon, PhD, director

Dmitry Konstantinovich Krekotin – radiologist, MRI doctor

Elvira Nailevna Zakirova – radiologist, MRI doctor, PhD

Olga Valeryevna Kachemaeva – neurologist, PhD

Agash Beymirza-ogly Alyshov – anesthesiologist

Igor Vyacheslavovich Buzaev – interventional cardiologist, MD, PhD

Tatyana Yuryevna Koveshnikova – MRI-technician

Ayvar Ramilevich Kireev – analyst, communication specialist

2. Online

       2.1. Bashkir State Medical University, Ufa Professor Shamil Makhmutovich Safin, Head of the Department of Neurosurgery and Medical Rehabilitation at Bashkir State Medical University, Head of the Department of Neurosurgery at GBUZ GKB named after G.G. Kuvatov. Chief Freelance Neurosurgeon of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Bashkortostan, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor

       2.2. Scientific Center of Neurology, Moscow: Professor Illarioshkin S.N., Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Deputy Director for Research and Head of the Brain Research Department at the Scientific Center of Neurology, President of the National Society for the Study of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders (Moscow)

       2.3. INSIGHTEC, clinical specialists in the implementation of the method:

Paul Wragg (London, United Kingdom)

Tessa Case (Malaga, Spain)

Daniel Molchanov (St. Petersburg, Russia)

3. Postoperative Management

Ildus Minnulovich Zaitov, neurosurgeon, Kuvatov Republican Clinical Hospital

Igor Alexandrovich Timofeev, anesthesiologist, City Clinical Hospital No. 13, Ufa

Kochkina Rezeda Fanisovna, Head of Neurology Department, Neurologist

Gimaletdinova G.R., neurologist, City Clinical Hospital No. 13, Ufa

Aidar Askatovich Gafarov, Acting Head of ICU, City Clinical Hospital No. 13, Ufa

4. Rehabilitation

Vladimir Alexandrovich Voevodin, Head of the Rehabilitation Department at the Kuvatov Republican Clinical Hospital.

At the V.S. Buzaev International Medical Centre “Intelligent Neurosurgery Clinic” (Ufa), a multidisciplinary international team successfully performed the first neurosurgical operation in the Russian Federation using MRI-guided focused ultrasound. On May 5, 2020, a sixty-eight-year-old resident of the Republic of Bashkortostan with Parkinson’s disease was treated for tremor.

In addition, the team became the first center where the company Insightec implemented an online communication operation. Successful joint treatment under online proctorship paved the way for the launch of other centers in Australia and Belarus, which were awaiting the end of the epidemic Covid-19 for the personal visit of specialists for the implementation of MRI-guided focused ultrasound. The joint implementation of new methods in clinical practice using online technologies has made it possible to treat patients in situations when the virus epidemic COVID-19 does not allow specialists to work side by side

We were able to perform a surgical operation on the deep structures of the brain predictably, painlessly, non-invasively, and without anesthesia by heating with focused ultrasound waves, visualizing the impact on the MRI image. This is the first operation of its kind in Russia. The patient was a successful veterinarian for many years, even performing Caesarean sections on animals, and recently the disease significantly limited his ability to perform routine tasks due to severe hand tremor.

The treatment lasted several hours from the moment a special unique helmet was fixed on the patient until a stable effect from the impact of ultrasound waves was achieved. As a result, complete disappearance of the tremor was achieved, and a non-invasive thalamotomy was performed. During the operation and the postoperative period, the patient did not report any complaints. In the evening, the patient underwent a control MRI of the brain, and no complications were detected. The patient rated the improvement from the therapy at 100%. Postoperative management of the patient was conducted at City Clinical Hospital No. 13. Subsequently, the patient underwent rehabilitation at a sanatorium in Oktyabrsky and in the rehabilitation department of the Kuvatov Republican Clinical Hospital.

Congratulations to everyone involved in these operations on receiving the Golden Scalpel!