A 33-year-old mother of four regained full consciousness at Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center in Jerusalem after spending months in a coma caused by severe, treatment-resistant epileptic seizures. The patient, identified only as A., experienced a prolonged medical crisis that began with an ordinary fever before escalating into continuous abnormal electrical brain activity and cardiac arrest.
How the Medical Crisis Began for A
A. had previously led an active life, working full-time and completing academic studies with honors while raising four children. Her ordeal started when a persistent fever prompted her mother to take her to an emergency room, where initial tests showed nothing unusual. Several days later, after A. stopped answering her phone, her husband found her seriously unwell and called an ambulance. En route to the hospital, she suffered violent seizures, lost her pulse, and required immediate CPR by a paramedic.
Doctors determined she was suffering from prolonged, severe epileptic seizures driven by abnormal electrical activity in the brain. Medical staff placed her under sedation and connected her to a ventilator to control the seizures and prevent further brain damage. For approximately two months, she underwent intensive treatment at another hospital involving high doses of anti-seizure medications, biological treatments, and the implantation of a vagus nerve stimulator. When those interventions failed to produce any significant improvement, her family was advised to transfer her to Hadassah Ein Kerem.
Advanced Brain Mapping and Deep Brain Stimulation at Hadassah Ein Kerem
At Hadassah Ein Kerem, a multidisciplinary team of specialists in neurology, neurosurgery, intensive care, and anesthesia evaluated the complex case over several weeks. Physicians ultimately performed an advanced invasive brain mapping procedure, implanting thin electrodes deep inside the brain to precisely pinpoint the sources of abnormal electrical activity. The mapping revealed an extensive network spanning both sides of the brain that drove the seizures.
Based on these findings, the surgical team decided to implant a deep brain stimulation (DBS) system. Led by senior neurosurgeon and epilepsy surgery specialist Dr. Sami Hyman, the surgery involved placing four permanent electrodes deep within the brain to deliver precisely controlled electrical stimulation intended to disrupt the abnormal activity and stabilize neural networks. While DBS is primarily known for treating movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, its deployment in such an extreme case of continuous seizures remained highly unusual.
Recovery and Awakening After Months in a Coma
Within days of activating the DBS system, doctors observed a dramatic reduction in abnormal electrical activity under continuous monitoring. Medical staff gradually discontinued the sedation medications. A. then opened her eyes in what her care team and family described as a major breakthrough.
“A week after the surgery, she had already started responding,” her husband said, noting that she gradually began recognizing loved ones, responding to voices, and communicating again. “Little by little, she came back to us.”
Medical Team and Family Reflections on the Ordeal
Dr. Hyman described the case as exceptionally rare and complex, noting that the patient’s initial chances of recovery appeared very low. “This was a joint effort by dozens of staff members from different fields who did not give up even after months without improvement,” he said. “By combining advanced technology with out-of-the-box thinking, we were able not only to stop the seizures, but to bring the patient back from a prolonged coma to full consciousness.”
A.’s husband praised the support the family received throughout the months-long ordeal. “The Hadassah team went above and beyond, both in treatment and support,” he said. “The neighbors and friends also rallied to help us and prayed for us. The fact that she woke up and is where she is today is nothing short of a miracle.”
Frequently Asked Questions About A.’s Treatment
What caused A.’s prolonged coma?
Her coma resulted from prolonged, severe epileptic seizures caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain, which required sedation and mechanical ventilation following cardiac arrest on the way to the hospital.
Why was deep brain stimulation used instead of standard medications?
After two months of intensive interventions—including high doses of anti-seizure medications, biological treatments, and a vagus nerve stimulator—failed to yield improvement, invasive brain mapping revealed a widespread electrical network across both sides of the brain that required targeted electrical disruption via permanent electrodes.
Which medical professionals led the surgical intervention?
The surgery was led by Dr. Sami Hyman, a senior neurosurgeon and epilepsy surgery specialist at Hadassah Ein Kerem, working alongside a multidisciplinary team of neurology, neurosurgery, intensive care, and anesthesia specialists.
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