Perioperative care in subthalamic stimulation surgery

Introduction. Bilateral stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) seems to be one of the most effective treatments for advanced forms of Parkinson's disease. Success of the postoperative clinical outcome depends on the quality of the inclusion of patients and the optimal targeting and stimulation of the cerebral nucleus. Case report. We describe the case of a 68 years old male with intracerebral hemorrhage, cognitive deterioration and generalized convulsions in the early postoperative period of a bilateral deep brain stimulation (DBS) of STN. Conclusions. Although this kind of surgery is included in the concept of <<minimal invasive>> surgery, there are risks and side effects, some of them very serious, as in the case report we present. Perioperative management is complex because of the nature of the surgery and the type of patient, so that some of the aspects are still under debate for both the anesthesiologist and the rest of specialists involved.