Surgical Webcasts

Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center is proud to offer live surgical webcasts. Viewers can watch physician and patient interviews and e-mail questions to the host physician. Referrals and appointments can also be made during the webcast.

Vagus Nerve Stimulation
Frederick Alan Boop, M.D., Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center

Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center presents a Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) procedure to treat children with uncontrollable epileptic seizures. Approximately one percent of children in the United States have some form of epilepsy. For many of these children, medication or surgery are effective treatments.

However, some children are not candidates for surgery and do not respond well to medication (pharmacoresistant). For these children, the VNS is often a safe and effective way to reduce the frequency and intensity of the seizures.

VNS Therapy™ sends precisely timed and measured mild electrical impulses to the left vagus nerve, which then activates various areas of the brain. The vagus nerve is the 10th cranial nerve and is the leading "information highway" to the brain from the thorax and abdomen. VNS is delivered via a small pacemaker-like device that is implanted just under the skin during a short outpatient procedure. Children using the VNS are able to better control their seizures, thus helping them perform better in school.

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Archived Adult Webcasts

Posted: October 28, 2004 For more information please contact: Anne Glankler , 901.287.6030