My next door neighbour underwent similar surgery for a different condition when she was in her early 40's. She had seizures, massive mood swings (she'd go from hyperventilatingly ecstatic to suicidal in 30 seconds) and massively reduced motor control due to a disease that caused malformed brain tissue to be created. It was the same operation in principle to that of your cousin's - to disconnect and/or remove certain parts of the brain. She had around 20% of her physical brain matter removed, and it solved the problem. The negative result of the surgery is that she has the odd memory lapse, some mild muscular twitching, struggles to remember people's names and faces, slightly reduced mental agility and has anosmia (no sense of smell). Despite this, she is a more than capable driver (the DVLA made her take her test again and she passed first time) and she works a full time job in an office.
However, this is not to say that your cousin's operation will result in a similar way. From what I've read, the areas of the brain most commonly affected in Rasmussen's syndrome are much more integral to the functionality of the brain than in my neighbour's condition. As with all neural surgery, especially concerning the brain, there is never a 100% recovery and there will be some side effects. I think it all depends on what parts are disconnected/removed.
One thing that may help predict the level of mental retardation after the operation is to know how she acts as a person and which hemisphere they will be operating on. If she is interested in (or more stimulated by) art, music and language, her left hemisphere is likely to be more active than the left. If she is more stimulated by logic, maths and technology, she is probably has an active right hemisphere. If the surgeon is operating on the active hemisphere, the damage will most probably be more significant than if they are operating on the less active hemisphere.
Despite my comments here, I am NOT a medical professional and I am definitely not an expert in Rasmussen's Syndrome. If a doctor tells you something different, take his/her word over mine.
Hope she gets well soon. _________________ BAZINGA.
|