With only 7 months to live, Heloísa Cardoso Máximo suffered her first seizure, to the despair of her family. Over a little over two years, the epileptic seizures became constant. Her mother, Maria Eduarda Cardoso Flauzinu, 24, says that her daughter had up to 70 episodes a day, which harmed the girl’s physical and cognitive development.
In October 2022, when she was already 3 years old and after trying different ways to control the seizures, Heloísa received a referral for a highly complex surgery at Sabará Hospital Infantil, in São Paulo.
The procedure, carried out on November 8 and 11, was a turning point in the life of a child, who stopped having seizures. Just a month after the surgery, the family saw the girl gain strength to take her first steps.
“She spent most of her time lying down because of the number of seizures she had in a day. Heloísa evolved a lot after the surgery. She already takes a few steps and we can understand her. It is a realisation”, says Maria Eduarda.
Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that produces abnormal and excessive electrical discharges in the brain. In addition to physical discomforts, children may experience difficulty in cognitive development.
It is estimated that five to ten children in every thousand have epilepsy. The causes may be related to infections, fractures, prematurity, genetics or malformation of the central nervous system.
Heloísa’s family does not know what caused the condition in the girl. The diagnosis of epilepsy came just two months after the first seizure, after many tests to investigate the case.
“Heloísa was hospitalized several times, in different hospitals. We tried all kinds of treatments, with medication to prevent seizures, the use of cannabidiol and the ketogenic diet, but after 3 years the seizures became uncontrolled again, reaching more than 70 per day. My daughter could not have a normal life”, says the mother.
The condition worsened last year, when not even medication could control the disease and Heloísa was hospitalized again. That was when the team led by neurologist Carlos Takeuchi was able to identify, based on imaging tests, the exact location in the brain where the seizures were coming from.
Heloísa Cardoso Máximo suffers from epileptic seizures since she was 7 months oldCamila Cardoso Lopes/ Image courtesy of Metrópoles
Heloísa Cardoso Máximo 02The girl underwent two surgeries in November 2022 Camila Cardoso Lopes/ Image courtesy of Metrópoles
Heloísa Cardoso Maximum 06The surgery was performed in two stages.Camila Cardoso Lopes/ Image courtesy of Metrópoles
Heloísa Cardoso Maximum 08The recovery process includes physiotherapy and speech therapy sessionsCamila Cardoso Lopes/ Image courtesy of Metrópoles
Heloísa Cardoso Maximum 05Since then, she has had no more seizures. Camila Cardoso Lopes/ Image courtesy of Metrópoles
Heloísa Cardoso Máximo 01Heloise at 3 years old Camila Cardoso Lopes/ Image courtesy of Metrópoles
0
Surgery
According to Takeuchi, the patient had a malformation called cortical dysplasia, a malformed brain tissue that caused seizures. It is a rare case, which can be solved with surgery to remove the dysplasia.
“This is a highly complex procedure and, for it to happen accurately and effectively, it was necessary to confirm that the area that was injured could be removed without impairing motor functions and that there would be no risk to the child”, explains the doctor.
Heloísa underwent two surgeries, on November 8 and 11, 2022. The hospital’s pediatric neurosurgeon, José Erasmo Dal Col Lucio, explains that the procedure consisted of two stages. The first was the implantation of electrodes on the surface of the brain to map the region that generated the seizures, and the second was the removal of the malformed area.
“This type of surgery is not new, but few hospital centers in Brazil are able to perform it. It is necessary to have a multidisciplinary team with expertise in the subject”, explains Lucio.
According to the neurosurgeon, this was the best option for Heloísa, since the lesion causing the epilepsy was contained in only one location and the uncontrolled seizures were directly interfering with her motor and neurological development.
The results were better than expected even by the family. “Since then, she has not had any seizures. It was a true miracle, but we know that evolution is slow”, says the girl’s grandmother, Camila Cardoso Lopes.
After the procedure, the child started having physiotherapy and speech therapy sessions, and has been gaining more confidence to walk and speak her first words — the family hopes that Heloísa will reach both milestones by the end of this year. “From now on, she will have a wonderful future”, celebrates Maria Eduarda.
Get news from metropolises on your Telegram and stay on top of everything! Just access the channel: https://t.me/metropolesurgente.
