ABSTRACT
Preparing the patient with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and their family for deep
brain stimulation (DBS) surgery is both an art and a science. It is imperative
that the patient and his/her family have confidence in the treatment team to gain successful surgical outcomes and confidence in living with DBS technology.
The surgery itself is only one part in the journey of living with PD technology.
Realistic expectations, education, and interdisciplinary care planning will
provide the patient/family with the knowledge they need in the preoperative, interoperative, and postoperative stages. This involves teaching the patient
about surgical risks and what to expect before, during, and after surgery. DBS
education and teaching should be considered a process that spans from the first
day of evaluation and continues through to follow-up, after the surgery.
