A man who had been in a coma for four months woke up after surgery performed by prof. Wojciech Maksymowicz, a neurosurgeon from Olsztyn, who operated, among others daughter of Ewa Błaszczyk. This is the hope for many other sick people and their relatives who are waiting for their return to the state of consciousness. Poland is the second country, next to Japan, where experimental surgeries of awakening from coma by implanting brain stimulators were carried out.
At the University Clinical Hospital in Olsztyn, patients after performed in May and July this year. such treatments begin to return to the state of consciousness. Tomasz, 35, who had been in a coma since May, woke up completely. – A few days before that, Mr. Tomasz started to carry out simple orders. Today he talks normally – says prof. Maksymowicz.
Difficult awakening
The doctor is happy about the success, but emphasizes that he has mixed feelings. The patient is not happy because he has only now realized that he has had an accident and cannot move his limbs. Prof. Maksymowicz encourages him, saying that he has a goal to exercise intensively and rehabilitate until the next Olympics.
A significant improvement in awareness was also seen in the operated 37-year-old Mariusz Wachowicz, a journalist from the Polish Press Agency, who had a bicycle accident last year and fell into a coma. – The patient does not speak because his speech center is damaged. However, during his stay in the hospital, he used a laptop for picture games – says prof. Maksymowicz.
Earlier, the positive effects of the procedure were felt by the person operated on in May this year. 22-year-old daughter of Ewa Błaszczyk, who fell into a coma 16 years ago. Ola began to respond to simple commands. Its operation was performed by the team of prof. Maksymowicz together with Japanese neurosurgeons visiting Olsztyn.
Wake up in Japanese
Japanese scientists prof. Tetsuo Kanno from the Fujita Health University and his student prof. Isao Morita had previously performed such procedures in 200 patients. In over 60% of them up to the age of 35, their awareness improved. The operation consists in placing electrodes in the cervical section, which stimulate the core and the brain with a current, which is to awaken the patient from a coma. The Japanese decided to share their knowledge with Polish doctors. Apart from Ola, pacemakers were implanted in three more patients, who are also more active now: they follow orders, react emotionally. In addition to four free surgeries, doctors from Olsztyn have already performed three more procedures on their own. As they were experimental in nature, the Ewa Błaszczyk Foundation raised money to finance them. The cost of one is about 80 thousand. zloty.
Adult alarm clock
Prof. Wojciech Maksymowicz intends to open a ward for adults in a coma in Olsztyn, similar to the Budzik clinic, which is run by Ewa Błaszczyk for children. Currently, there is no good deal for adults in a coma in the healthcare system, and there are rehabilitation methods that could be offered to them. In Poland, after a few weeks of hospitalization, coma patients go either to their homes or to care and treatment facilities, where they cannot count on specialist help. Such a center is needed, ranging from diagnostics to neurological rehabilitation. Prof. Maksymowicz hopes that there will be money for further pacemaker implantations. He also intends to use stem cells to wake up patients. – I hope that stem cells will become a new group of drugs in the treatment of difficult diseases of the nervous system, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis or prolonged coma. We are also trying to treat stroke brain injury, spinal cord injury, treatment of lumbar discopathy or bone defects, he says.