An Oklahoma Girl Just Made History With This Incredible Medical Procedure

You might have heard about Neuralink and the pretty impressive results of its brain implants. But this isn’t the only company performing what might appear to be miraculous work on patients with otherwise debilitating disorders.

And one 8-year-old named Karleigh Fry is now demonstrating the evidence of this high-tech healthcare trend.

A medical collaboration

It took teams from two hospitals — Oklahoma Children’s Hospital OU Health and Bethany Children’s Health Center — to put this plan into action. And the evidence seems to indicate that this breakthrough in pediatric neurosurgery was a success.

Here’s some background about the 8-year-old patient:

• Karleigh was diagnosed with a disorder called rapid-onset primary dystonia
• The neurological impairment left her paralyzed by involuntary muscle contractions
• Some medicines helped, but she remained unable to fully control her movements

“Her arms used to lock up to the point we would put socks on her hands because she would scratch her neck,” said Karleigh’s mother, Trisha.

That’s when medical teams developed a plan to use robotic deep brain stimulation to address the disorder at its root.

A major milestone

Although robotic deep brain stimulation isn’t an entirely new procedure, this case does represent its first use on a child. In effect, surgeons implant electrodes in regions of the brain that send new signals to override those disrupted by a neurological disorder.

As Dr. Andrew Jea said in announcing the result, this “marked the global debut of using a robot from our operating rooms to perform DBS in a child, setting a precedent not only in Oklahoma but also across the United States and worldwide.”

Kayleigh’s mother said that “from the moment they turned it on,” the results were clear.

“She is even using her voice a little bit more, and we can make out some of her words,” Trisha concluded.

Chris Agee June 14th, 2024

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