At LittleGuide Detroit, we want to make life easier for parents – which often times includes sharing cool new destinations, but also information about the best resources for your family as well – including the best pediatric hospital. Children’s Hospital of Michigan has been ranked by U.S. News and World Report as one of the BEST Children’s Hospital for Neurology & Neurosurgery and if your child or a child in your life suffers from seizures, the experience of Damian Gant and his mother is one your want to know about.
When Damian Gant was only a few months old (currently age 14), his mother Jackie noticed irregular behavior and missed milestones. After a series of doctor visits he was eventually diagnosed wtih an epileptic condition known as Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. This condition caused Damian to suffer multiple types of seizures, including drop seizures, which can cause a loss of muscle tone making the head or body limp, often time resulting in him falling and injuring himself. Over the years, doctors suggested Damian have invasive surgery that would require removing part of his skull but Jackie did not feel that that was the right move for her son.
Early in 2022, Damian was having up to 20 seizures a day and Jackie knew that surgery was needed. Unlike the invasive surgery that had been suggested in the past, Children’s Hospital of Michigan was able to offer care that no other hospital in the state has been able to – a procedure known as Corpus Callosotomy. Dr. Neena Marupudi used a minimally invasive technique with a robot to treat drop seizures by dividing all or part of the corpus callous. Within days of recovery, Damian and Jackie saw improvements.
Damian is the first pediatric patient in Metro-Detroit to receive a Corpus Callosotomy. His physical and cognitive recovery has exceeded expectations and he’s able to do more now than he could prior to the surgery. Although he still experiences an occasional seizure, they are no longer a daily occurrence.
Thanks to Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Jackie found the care her son needed and doctors who included her in the process. From her first meeting with Dr. Marupudi, Jackie felt like they were working together as a team to get Damian the best care. When medical issues arose before surgery, Dr. Marupudi took precautionary steps to ensure Damian was healthy enough to undergo the procedure. This care and due diligence provided Jackie with peace of mind and additional confidence during a difficult time. The attentive care and support the Gants received throughout this process and during their regular visits is why Children’s Hospital of Michigan feels like more than a medical facility, it feels like home.
What is a corpus callosotom
Corpus callosotomy is a surgical procedure used to treat atonic seizures, also called drop attacks, by dividing all or part of the corpus callosum. The corpus callosum is the bundle of nerve fibers that connects the two brain hemispheres. The procedure prevents seizures from spreading from one half of the brain to the other. Corpus callosotomy surgery does not completely eliminate seizures, but it prevents them from affecting the entire brain and muscles on both sides of the body
Learn more about Neurosurgery at Children’s Hospital of Michigan and listen to Jackie Gant share her experience in the video below.
