What type of follow-up is needed after surgery? Who will program the DBS unit?
Patients normally leave the hospital two days after surgery. We ask patients to return to our clinic 1 week later for suture removal and check of the incisions by our DBS nursing specialist, and approximately 4 weeks later to see the surgeon in the Movement Disorders Programs The initial programming is done at Rush-Copley Movement Disorders Program between 1 day and 30 days after surgery. Some patients have temporary disorientation or sleepiness for a few days after surgery due to temporary brain swelling, and if this occurs programming is deferred until the mental state completely returns to baseline. For subsequent programming needs after the initial stimulator activation, the patient is welcome to continue in our Movement Disorders Program. For patients who have neurologists outside of Rush-Copley who are comfortable with programming, it is often most convenient to return to their regular neurologist. We are happy to collaborate with referring neurologists regarding programming and
Patients normally leave the hospital two days after surgery. We ask patients to return to our clinic 1 week later for suture removal and check of the incisions by our DBS nursing specialist, and approximately 4 weeks later to see the surgeon and neurologist in the Movement Disorders Surgery Clinic. The initial programming is done at UCSF usually at the one-week postoperative visit. Some patients have temporary disorientation or sleepiness for a few days after surgery due to temporary brain swelling, and if this occurs programming is deferred until the mental state completely returns to baseline. For subsequent programming needs after the initial stimulator activation, the patient is welcome to continue in our Movement Disorders Clinic. For patients who have neurologists outside of UCSF who are comfortable with programming, it is often most convenient to return to their regular neurologist. We are happy to advise referring neurologists regarding programming strategies, and we have close
Patients normally leave the hospital two days after surgery. We ask patients to return to our clinic 1 week later for suture removal and check of the incisions by our DBS nursing specialist, and approximately 4 weeks later to see the surgeon and neurologist in the Movement Disorders Surgery Clinic. The initial programming is done at UCSF at the one-week postoperative visit. Some patients have temporary disorientation for a few days after surgery due to temporary brain swelling, and if this occurs programming is deferred until the mental state completely returns to baseline. For subsequent programming needs after the initial stimulator activation, the patient is encouraged to continue in our Movement Disorders Clinic. For patients who live at a distance from the Bay Area and have a neurologist with a DBS programmer, we are happy to advise other neurologists regarding optimal programming strategies for dystonia. In the first month following DBS implantation, some patients may develop an
