Pallidotomy in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease became almost obsolete in the 1960s after the development and introduction of levodopa as a treatment.2 Whilst the approach has been modernised, the technique has been largely replaced by stimulation techniques, which are reversible, modifiable, and can be performed safely bilaterally.3-5
References:
1. Josefson D. Pallidotomy relieves some symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. BMJ 2000; 320 (7250): 1622.
2. Alkhani A, Lozano AM. Pallidotomy for Parkinson disease: a review of contemporary literature. J Neurosurg 2001; 94 (1): 43–49.
3. Deuschl G, Antonini A, Costa J, et al. European Academy of Neurology/Movement Disorder Society-European Section guideline on the treatment of Parkinson’s disease: I. Invasive therapies. Mov Disord 2022; 37 (7): 1360–1374.
4. Eisenberg HM, Krishna V, Elias WJ, et al. MR-guided focused ultrasound pallidotomy for Parkinson’s disease: safety and feasibility. J Neurosurg 2020; 135: 792–798.
5. Sharma VD, Patel M, Miocinovic S. Surgical treatment of Parkinson’s disease: devices and lesion approaches. Neurotherapeutics 2020; 17 (4): 1525–1538.
