Subthalamic stimulation in Parkinson disease: with or without anesthesia?

Objective To study the effects of general anesthesia on the postoperative outcome of patients with Parkinson disease (PD) who underwent surgery using bilateral placement of stimulating electrodes within the subthalamic nucleus (STN). Design Retrospective analysis. Setting Hopital de la Salpetriere, Paris, France. Patients Fifteen PD patients who underwent bilateral implantation of electrodes within the STN received general anesthesia because of severe anxiety, poorly tolerated off-period dystonia, or respiratory difficulties. These patients were compared with 15 patients matched for age, disease duration, and parkinsonian motor disability who underwent the same neurosurgical procedure under local anesthesia. Main Outcome Measure Motor disability scores. Results After surgery, the severity of parkinsonian motor disability was markedly improved in both groups of patients. Compared with patients who were under local anesthesia during the operation, the residual parkinsonian motor score under stimulation (with ["on"] or without ["off"] levodopa) and the intensity of stimulation were higher in patients who were under general anesthesia during the operation. Conclusions Although the improvement of parkinsonian motor disability is greater in PD patients who receive local anesthesia during surgery, general anesthesia can be performed in patients unable to tolerate prolonged states without levodopa.