Girl, 6, has HALF her brain permanently disconnected in radical operation
A GIRL has undergone a radical operation to disconnect half her brain and stop debilitating seizures.
Brianna Bodley, six, went under the knife in California on September 28 to treat her devastating Rasmussen’s encephalitis — a rare condition that causes the brain to swell.
She was diagnosed with the progressive disease in September last year and her family crowdfunded the surgery.
Speaking five days later, her mum Crystal said: “Brianna is recovering after having a functional hemispherectomy — a disconnection of half of her brain.
“Yesterday we just got out of the ICU and transferred to a normal hospital unit in the children's hospital.
“Right now it's all about pain management trying to help with her pain after surgery.
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“This week she will get transferred to inpatient rehab, where she will do intense rehab to learn how to walk and use her arm, speech therapy and more.”
Rasmussen's encephalitis is thought to affect just 500 children globally.
It causes regular, severe seizure, mental deterioration and swelling of the brain.
Over time, patients begin to lose motor skills, speech and can become paralysed on one side of the body.
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Anti-epileptic drugs can be prescribed but may not entirely control seizures.
Brianna had tried six different pills, as well as steroids and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) treatment every three weeks prior to the surgery.
IVIG involves being given disease-fighting antibodies but the treatments stopped working after several months.
Crystal said: “She was in pain due to her having non stop seizures which are shown in her leg that jerks all day long even when she’s sleeping.”
The family decided trying a hemispherectomy was the best option for Brianna.
The surgery is among the best treatments for seizures in patients who qualify for it, including those who have lost strength, vision or dexterity on one side of the body.
Complications can include meningitis, infection and fever.
Brianna is still the “same person” after the surgery, Crystal said, although she will not recover her vision in her left eye or motor skills with her left hand.
The family is fundraising for her ongoing treatment on .
