Groundbreaking Epilepsy Surgery in Bolivia
This week in Bolivia, we are celebrating a major achievement: the first-ever epilepsy surgery performed in the public children’s hospital of Santa Cruz! A strong partnership between neurologists and neurosurgeons from the Dr. Mario Ortiz Suarez Children’s Hospital (Hospital de Niños) of Santa Cruz and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago made this possible. Bolivian neurosurgeon Dr. Felix Pacheco worked side-by-side with his long-time friend and U.S colleague Dr. Art DiPatri to perform the surgery.
Drs. DiPatri and Pacheco give an update to Andrea’s family after completing her procedure.
The parents of the six-year-old patient, Andrea, were overjoyed to hear the news that the temporal lobectomy surgery went well. The lesion that was causing her to have up to six seizures per day was removed. Today is two days post-op and Andrea is ready to leave the ICU. Her doctors have shared that she may experience occasional seizures in the short-term, but that they should decrease and may stop altogether as her recovery progresses. Everyone is very hopeful for this positive prognosis.
Surgery is typically a last resort for epilepsy patients, after thorough diagnostics have been completed and all medical treatments are attempted. Yet it remains an important treatment option for a significant percentage of patients whose seizures cannot be controlled by medication. There are many factors that need to be in place in order to provide this level of care.
Impactful Equipment
EEG equipment is essential to advancing epilepsy diagnostics. The Hospital de Niños was fortunate to acquire an EEG in 2021 with support from the Bolivian Ministry of Health. In 2022, the Rotary Foundation, in collaboration with Solidarity Bridge and Puente de Solidaridad, secured a second video EEG for the hospital.
A Collaborative Team
The most important factor is a successful partnership between neurosurgeons and neurologists. The outstanding team of local neurosurgeons—including Dr. José Cuiza, Dr. Felix Pacheco, Dr. José Luis Ferufino, and Dr. Mauricio Puch—are skilled and dedicated. And the neurology team of Dr. Victor Cuellar, Dr. Shirley Martinez, and Dr. Giovanna Flores is passionate about treating patients with this disease. The neurologists have created collaborative relationships with their surgical partners that recognize that most epilepsy patients (around 70%) can be treated medically. They have partnered with the NNI and Dr. Rebecca Garcia Sosa of Lurie Children’s to bring training to their primary care counterparts who are the first-stop in diagnosis and referral. And they never cease to further their own education, advancing their skills in recognizing patients who demonstrate drug resistance. Dr. Flores also pursued specialized epilepsy training through a scholarship from the International League Against Epilepsy.
With this collaborative team and the necessary equipment, the hospital now has the right conditions to diagnose and treat epileptic patients across the entire spectrum.
It is an honor for us to support the initiatives and ideas of our Bolivian partners to expand access to comprehensive epilepsy care. We will continue to support their efforts to improve epilepsy diagnosis and treatment, and to better resource the primary care providers and families who care for children with epilepsy. Special thanks to Drs. Art DiPatri and Rebecca Garcia Sosa from Lurie Children’s Hospital for their long-term commitment to these efforts.
Through partnerships and collaborative actions that are measurable and sustainable, the Neurosurgery and Neurology Institute works to build capacity and expertise in Bolivia and Paraguay in order to increase access to safe, affordable and timely health care.
We are committed to alleviating the suffering, death and disability from neurological disorders and injuries that disproportionately impact patients in the countries where we serve.