Murray Wood: Who's hot... and who's not
Every Friday, Murray Wood takes a look back at the week's news and decides who's hot... and who's not. This week's list ...
A new team of pediatric specialists at Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital in Saskatoon is expanding access to advanced epilepsy care in Saskatchewan, allowing children to receive complex brain surgery closer to home.
For 13-year-old Regina boy Noah Dobson, the new service came at a critical time. After years of seizures and a previous brain surgery, Noah underwent Saskatchewan’s first pediatric epilepsy surgery guided by stereoelectroencephalography, or SEEG, in July.
Read more:
- RUH completes first Sask. stereotactic robotic epilepsy surgery
- State-of-the-art robotic surgical system to be used at Saskatoon’s St. Paul’s Hospital
- Robot-assisted surgical system introduced at Regina’s Pasqua Hospital
The procedure helped specialists pinpoint where Noah’s seizures were starting and led to a second surgery to remove brain tissue involved in his epilepsy.
For families across Saskatchewan, the availability of this level of specialized care in the province can mean less travel and more time close to home.
Noah’s seizures began when he was 11 and were caused by a brain tumour.
His mother, Charlene Dobson, said that Noah was initially placed on three medications, which appeared to control the seizures. They eventually returned and became more severe.
Noah underwent brain surgery in 2024, but his seizures continued. His medical team then considered another operation.
In July, specialists at Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital used SEEG to determine where the seizures were beginning in Noah’s brain.
The procedure involves placing thin electrodes into specific areas of the brain to directly record electrical activity. Unlike a routine scalp electroencephalogram, SEEG can monitor deeper areas of the brain and help doctors determine where seizures begin and how they spread.
“And actually, we found that it was not just the tumour, it was also part of the brain called the insula,” pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Amit Persad said.
That information helped doctors plan Noah’s next surgery.
No seizures since July surgery
At the end of July, surgeons removed a section of brain tissue identified as being involved in Noah’s seizures.
Doctors also had to protect areas of the brain responsible for important functions such as language and vision.
“We want to try to avoid those areas, obviously to not cause any problems, but to still treat the epilepsy he was having. So that’s the procedure that Noah had at the end of July. And it went very well for him,” pediatric epileptologist Dr. AnneMarie Denny said.
Noah has been seizure-free since the surgery, an encouraging early result for his family.
The procedure also represents a milestone for pediatric neurological care in Saskatchewan. Before SEEG became available at Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital, children needing this level of specialized epilepsy investigation and surgery would have had to leave the province for treatment.
“They don’t need to travel to other provinces or even other countries to have these done. We can be close to family,” pediatric neurologist Dr. J.P. Appendino said.
Appendino said having the procedure available in Saskatchewan puts the province alongside larger centres that offer highly specialized epilepsy care.
“Having this procedure available here puts Saskatchewan right up there with world-class hospitals, including Harvard in Boston and Los Angeles,” he said.
Looking forward to Grade 8
For Noah and his family, the focus now is on returning to everyday life.
Noah expects to return to Grade 8 full time, after spending significant time in and out of treatment.
“He is literally like a local celebrity at his school,” Charlene Dobson said.
Noah said he is looking forward to seeing his friends and returning to school, although he knows his classmates will have plenty of questions about his summer.
The surgery was made possible in part by a $1.2-million fundraising effort that brought the ROSA robotic surgical system to Royal University Hospital. The system is used to assist with SEEG procedures.
According to the Royal University Hospital Foundation, the fundraising included a $700,000 lead gift from Merlis Belsher and his family. The robot was named Erin in honour of Belsher’s granddaughter.
For children living with drug-resistant epilepsy, accurately identifying where seizures begin can help doctors determine whether surgery is an option and how it can be performed while protecting critical areas of the brain.
For Noah, the goal is much more straightforward: getting back to being a kid.
Read more:
