I Have A Date Part 2

As readers of my blog will be aware, I have been suffering from treatment resistant Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) for about a decade now.  In November of 2018 I attempted to cure this disease my having Magnetic Resonance-guided Focused Ultrasound Surgery (MRgFUS).  This was a scalpel-free surgery in which they used extremely strong ultrasound waves to create a lesion in part of my brain that they believe is controlling my depression and thereby reduce my depressive thoughts.  This was part of a year-long study looking at the effectiveness of MRgFUS.  Unfortunately, this surgery did not help me and my depression has continued over the past year.

Thus, as I mentioned in my last two blog posts, I have been considering getting Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) performed.  DBS is a much more invasive procedure which involves drilling two holes in my skull and having electrodes implanted in my brain.  The electrodes are connected by wire to a pacemaker-like device which will be placed under my skin just below my right collarbone.  For more information on the pros and cons of doing DBS versus doing MRgFUS you can see my previous blog post.  Having DBS performed would also be part of a year-long study on the effectiveness of DBS.

This week I had an appointment with the study psychiatrist Dr. Peter Giaccobe and the neurosurgery resident involved in the study Dr. Benjamin Davidson.  The purpose of this appointment was to determine if I qualified for the study.  The study neurosurgeon, Dr. Nir Lipsman had already given his approval, so I just needed the approval of the psychiatrist to proceed.  The appointment went well and Dr. Giaccobe thought that I was a good candidate.

Hence, today I received an email from Dr. Davidson that they would like to perform the operation on February 5 of this year.  That is a little less than a month away.  Having a date set is both exciting, because I am potentially close to getting better, and also anxiety-inducing, as this is a very invasive and scary surgery to have performed.  However, with all of the things that I have tried (CBT therapy, ECT, rTMS, MRgFUS, and over 50 different kinds of medications) I feel that this really is my last hope.  I need to try it.  I must be patient, however, as seeing positive results from the surgery can take a couple of years or more in some people.

Dr. Davidson also said that the target of the surgery in my case would be the subcallosal cingulate, also known as Brodmann area 25.  This is the area that most people who receive DBS for MDD have targeted.  There was a chance that they would target the medial forebrain bundle (MFB) as they are also targeting that area as part of their study but they decided not to do that for me.  It is a little more reassuring that with me they are targeting the area that they have the most data on and with which they have the most experience.

For more information on DBS you can view the following video, which I have posted in the past.  It gives a good introduction.



Over the next month I will be undergoing several tests and scans to make sure that there are no problems, but if nothing comes up, I will be going under the drill on February 5.