Stopping Megan's Seizures

Although Megan Cherry turns 20 this year, she is still in many ways a typical teenager. At least she was until about four years ago.

Megan: "I felt dizzy, but I didn't know what was going on. I thought I was just dehydrated. So I got up to find my mom and to get a glass of water, and that's the last thing I remembered."  

At the age of 15, Megan had her first seizure. Before long, she was having them every day.

Heather Cherry: "As a parent, it was very difficult to see your child go through seizures and everything else that went along with it, because you want to fix it and you can't."

In all, Megan tried nine medicines and various combinations to stop her seizures. Not only did they not work, but their side effects were dramatic. Then, her medical team at Cincinnati Children's made a suggestion.

Francisco Mangano. DO: "We could see that her seizures were coming from the left side."

Dr. Francesco Mangano is director of Neurosurgery at Cincinnati Children's, where a multi-disciplinary team uses the most advanced technology to enable, in many cases, less invasive surgical removal of diseased brain tissue. After a five-day evaluation, the team discovered that Megan's seizures stemmed from the left side of her brain. But if Megan was to become seizure-free, further testing was needed to pinpoint the exact location responsible for her seizures.

Mangano: "We could place a very small depth electrodes to very specific locations that would then give us further information when she started to have seizures."

Dr. Mangano used stereo EEG, a robotic technology to help them implant the electrodes. Because of this particular technology, he needed to make only a few small holes in her skull. 

Mangano: "Once those seizures occurred, the electrodes that were implanted picked up that information, and we were able to see the exact location of her seizure." 

The focus of Megan's seizures was deep in her brain, but they were localized to two contacts on one electrode. Using the same robotic technology that helped pinpoint the seizures, Dr. Mangano re-entered an existing small hole and replaced the key electrode with a laser ablation catheter.

Mangano: "Once we placed the catheter in the exact position, we can then heat the tip of that catheter, and that heat essentially kills the tissue that is causing the seizures."

Megan's mother: "After the surgery, she's back to my old Megan and full of life and doing normal teenage things."

Megan is now seizure-free. She can drive a car and stay out late with friends, all of those things she hadn't been able to do in years.

Megan: "It's awesome. It's the best feeling because it's been such a long road. It's crazy. I'm so blessed."