Objective: To evaluate the impact of stereotactic surgery on daily activities of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients.
Method: Thirty patients with idiopathic PD were evaluated before surgery and one, three, six and twelve months after surgery. Patients were evaluated with the UPDRS - part II (Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale) and the Schwab & England scales. Nine of the patients had also been evaluated after twenty four months.
Results: We performed nine posteroventral pallidotomies (PVP), two on the left hemisphere and seven on the right; 17 ventrolateral thalamotomies (VLT), 12 on the left and five on the right; two VLT on the left associated with PVP on the right at the same surgical procedure. The mean "off" phase scores of Schwab & England scale were: 60.6 before surgery, 74 after the first, 76.6 after the third, 75.6 after the sixth, 72.3 after the twelfth and 71.1 after the twenty fourth months after surgery. The mean "off" phase scores of UPDRS - part II scale were: 21 before surgery, 12.3 after the first, 14.7 after the third, 15.27 after the sixth, 17.1 after the twelfth and 17.5 after the twenty fourth months after surgery.
Conclusion: VTL and PVP are useful procedures to improve daily living activities of the PD patients and the best results are seen by six months after surgery.