What to expect after deep brain stimulation surgery

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) can be a life-changing experience for patients with movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor, or dystonia, but that transformation doesn’t happen overnight.

DBS uses electrodes placed at precise locations in a patient’s brain to deliver electrical stimulation, which helps patients control tremors, slow movement, and other Parkinson’s disease or movement disorder symptoms.

After the surgical procedure, it can take anywhere from a few months to almost a year for doctors and nurses to adjust the device settings to fit a patient’s unique needs.

“It’s a very individualized recovery process, and every patient is different,” said Nurse Practitioner Tsega Orcutt, APRN, CNP, who adjusts deep brain stimulation devices for patients in the Neurology Clinic at M Health Fairview Clinics and Surgery Center – Minneapolis.

What can you expect following your deep brain stimulation implantation and activation? We asked Orcutt and M Health Fairview Neurologist Scott Cooper, MD, PhD, to tell us more about the recovery process, including common side effects and challenges that patients often face.