Science and Health

Doctors call for approval of brain surgery to treat depression

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-03-03 14:11

CANBERRA - Australian doctors on Thursday called on the federal government to provide Australians with mental illness greater access to controversial surgery that places electrodes in a patient's brain while they are awake.

Deep brain stimulation has been used to treat patients with Parkinson's disease for decades, but more recently it has been trialled on patients with severe depression.

According to Royal Melbourne Hospital neurosurgeon Associate Professor Richard Bittar, up to 75 percent of patients with depression "seem to be obtaining a good benefit" from the surgery.

"My personal experience has been very similar to that - I've done five patients with depression and we've had good results there," he told ABC News on Thursday.

The controversial procedure involves drilling holes into the skull and implanting electrodes into the brain. The electrodes are attached to a battery pack that delivers electric pulses to stimulate or inhibit parts of the brain.

However, the surgery is not available everywhere, as New South Wales is the only state in Australia which has banned surgery for mental illness.

Professor Bittar said he has seen patients from New South Wales come down to Victoria to have their surgery, and he argued the ban in New South Wales should be overturned.

Meanwhile, Dennis Velakoulis from the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists said there is no reason Australia cannot develop a nationally consistent approach.