A 5-year-old boy who was diagnosed with epilepsy and tuberculosis in Germany, and who doctors said could possibly lose his ability to walk and speak, has been recovering at a Turkish hospital in Istanbul.
Tuğra Cihangir Ateş’ parents were told he would not walk or speak because of his diagnosis.
Medipol Mega University Hospital, where Tuğra has been receiving treatment for four years, said in a statement that doctors, medical staff and the family were all moved by the development Tuğra has shown, leaving the hospital running and singing.
Dr. Yasemin Topçu, quoted in the statement, said Tuğra was monitored with a 24-hour electroencephalogram (EEG), a test that measures brain waves, when he was just 9 months old.
“With long EEG shots, we have the chance to find the epileptic foci of the patient. We can also distinguish between true epileptic seizures and pseudo seizures mixed with epileptic seizures. Unfortunately, short shots are not helpful in making a decision on this,” said Topçu.
Long EEG shots enable doctors to decide the correct treatment and protect patients from unnecessary drugs, which affects the course of the disease, she said.
“This disease can also cause lesions in the brain. People diagnosed with epilepsy and tuberous sclerosis may be suitable for surgical intervention when necessary. We first evaluated the lesions in our patient and tried to find the foci that could be intervened, and evaluated the possibility of surgery in the epilepsy council,” she said.
