Jaime Lewis (Host): If you or someone you love has dealt with the effects of essential tremor, you know how frustrating and debilitating it can be. But as we'll hear, a procedure called Focused Ultrasound can help. Dr. Douglas Taylor is a Neurosurgeon who performs this procedure with Regional One Health, helping patients with essential tremor without the need for surgery or a hospital stay.

Today, we'll talk with him about what patients can expect from the procedure and its results. This is One on One, a podcast from Regional One Health, your inside look at how we're building healthier tomorrows for our patients and our community. I'm your host, Jaime Lewis. Dr. Taylor, welcome to the podcast.

Douglas Taylor, MD: Thanks, Jamie. I appreciate you having me.

Host: Start by telling us about essential tremor. What is this condition and what type of symptoms and quality of life impacts do patients experience?

Douglas Taylor, MD: So I guess at the basic level, essential tremor is a movement disorder in which the patient has tremor mainly with activity. They may have some tremor at rest, but for the most part, these are patients with tremor that have difficulty doing normal tasks, every day, such as, drinking a cup of coffee, eating, writing. It's because the tremor significantly affects their ability to do so.

Host: So how would a patient know if they're a good candidate for Focused Ultrasound?

Douglas Taylor, MD: Typically patients have dealt with this tremor for at least a couple years, and they notice that the tremor is significantly affecting their quality of life. It can be as simple as just being embarrassed to go out to eat, because you're, worried about spilling your food, but most of these people have dealt with this tremor for a couple years, point one.

The second point would be that they've seen either their primary care or a neurologist and have been diagnosed with essential tremor and that they've tried several forms of conservative therapies that can help the symptoms of the tremor.

Host: Well, let's say I decide to go in for Focused Ultrasound. What can I expect from this procedure? How does it work to address essential tremor?

Douglas Taylor, MD: So the procedure itself, is one in which we use high frequency ultrasound sound waves, essentially, to pass this energy into your brain to create a small lesion. And this lesion disrupts a circuit which causes the tremor.

Host: That's so interesting. In your experience, what type of results do you typically see for patients who have the Focused Ultrasound procedure and how does that benefit them day to day?

Douglas Taylor, MD: This procedure is typically very well tolerated. I would say the vast majority of people, you know, eight to nine out of 10 people, are super happy immediately after the procedure. During the procedure, we'll be testing your tremor as we do each treatment. So what happens is we'll deliver some energy, those sound waves.

And then, I'll come in, look at your tremor and based on how it's changed and based on any side effects we may be looking for, then we either move the spot or continue the treatment. The treatment itself typically takes around an hour to three hours and the results are immediate. So, right after we get done, you'll know that you'll have no tremor in that hand that we treated.

Like I said, it's typically well tolerated. Some people do have headaches. Some of the side effects that we do see are some numbness and tingling, typically in the lips or the fingertips. Those are things I'll be asking you throughout the procedure. The other thing is, after the procedure you may experience a little bit of imbalance, which is something that we want to look out for.

And those are the main side effects that we see with the procedure.

Host: This is such a fascinating field of medicine, non-invasive. I mean, what is your approach to caring for your patients? What keeps you motivated to do this kind of work?

Douglas Taylor, MD: It's certainly very rewarding to me to be able to help people and improve the quality of life of an individual who suffers with tremor. And, I think that in and of itself is something to keep me going with this.

Host: Definitely. Well, Dr. Taylor, thank you so much for your time.

Douglas Taylor, MD: Yeah, absolutely.

Host: That was Dr. Douglas Taylor, a Neurosurgeon who performs Focused Ultrasound for Regional One Health. I'm your host, Jaime Lewis. Thanks for making One on One with Regional One Health a part of your journey to better health. To learn more about Focused Ultrasound at Regional One Health and to request an appointment, visit regionalonehealth.org/regainyourindependence. Join us next time as we cover another topic to keep you on the path to a healthier tomorrow.