Free VNS Devices in USACyberonics, Inc., the manufacturer of the vagus nerve stimulation device for the treatment of epilepsy, has announced a new program to help persons with epilepsy who qualify for treatment but who do not have financial resources to pay for the device. Through the B. J. Wilder VNS Therapy Access Program and with the help of the Epilepsy Foundation (of America), Cyberonics will donate about 100 of its VNS systems per year to individuals (worth about US$5 million).
People who think they may qualify for the program, and whose physicians think are good candidates for the treatment, must also commit to acquiring ongoing care and follow-up after the device is implanted. Additional costs, including physician, surgical or hospital costs associated with the implant procedure or patient follow-up are not included in the program.
Epilepsy Ontario is looking into Cyberonics' extension of this offer to people in Ontario. Contact your
local chapter for information.
More Information
What is VNS?
Vagus nerve stimulation is a relatively new treatment for epilepsy, approved by Health Canada for use as an adjunctive (add on) therapy for seizures that are not well controlled by medication.
The treatment uses a small, circular devise which is implanted under the skin on the chest. Thin wires are threaded from it to the vagus nerve in the neck and leads are wound around the nerve. After the procedure, the device is programmed to deliver short pulses of electrical energy to the vagus nerve, which carries them to the brain. How these signals prevent seizures is still being studied. The system allows for extra stimulation when a seizure seems likely. This further allows the feeling of more control of seizures. Improvement, if it occurs, often develops slowly and increases over time.
Common side effects from VNS may include changes in voice quality when the system is active, hoarseness, and sore throat. As with all surgery, there is the possibility of infection at the implant site.
More than 9,000 people have received the device in the USA since the treatment was approved there. It is now the second most common method of treating seizure disorders in that country.
