David Wenger had an RNS device implanted in his brain to help control his seizures. (MyFoxDFW.com)
A 28-year-old Texas man who was diagnosed with epilepsy when he was a toddler has undergone a revolutionary procedure to implant a device in his brain to help control his seizures.
David Wenger has an implant on the left side of his brain called RNS, which stands for responsive neuro stimulator, MyFoxDFW.com reported. Doctors say the implant works like a defibrillator does on the heart, except it shocks the brain.
“The risk of implanting the device is not very high,” Dr. Joseph Beshay, Wenger’s doctor told MyFoxDFW.com. “The biggest risk, I think, is will it work, or will it not”
Using a home computer, the device monitors Wegner’s brain waves, and sends a counteractive electrical pulse to neutralize an oncoming seizure.
Before doctors recommended the RNS, Wegner had tried more than ten different medicines. The device, his doctors hope, will offer him more freedom.
“Really to simplify my life and put those seizures aside once and for all,” Wenger told MyFoxDFW.com.
Wenger is the first patient in North Texas to receive the device.
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