Banner University Medical Center Phoenix has officially opened its new neurocritical unit, which aims to bring the top technology and specialists under one roof for those with critical, life-threatening neurological conditions.
One of the first patients in the unit is Christopher Cathey, who has battled debilitating seizures since he was 12 due to Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. Now, at 32, his condition worsened severely, ultimately leading doctors to put him in a medically induced coma in February.
“He went Status Epilepticus, which is basically back-to-back seizures,” his mother, Anne Cathey-Spencer said. “They are the nightmare you don't want.”
Banner’s Interim Chair of Neurosurgery, Dr. Robert Bina said his case is “about as bad as seizures get.”
After trying to control his condition with medication, they turned to surgery, implanting a deep brain stimulation device to directly counteract the misfiring neurons in his brain.
“By adding in just a little bit of electricity into the abnormal epilepsy network, we were able to shut down the seizures,” Dr. Bina said.
Cathey-Spencer said while he has a road of recovery ahead, her son is showing improvements unseen in over a decade.
“For the first time in 11 years, he's back to working with PT and walking with a walker. That's huge,” Cathey-Spencer said. “There was no alternative, he would have passed. This did save his life.”
Dr. Bina said he hopes the neurocritical unit will help push the boundaries of modern neurology, helping get diagnoses and treatment faster for patients in critical positions.
“We have more information about the brain than we ever had before,” Dr. Bina said. “It's really exciting to see this hospital mature.”
