Learning & Preparation
Where to start
There is a great deal of material here, and reading it end to end is not the point. Start from where you are — deciding, preparing or recovering — and follow the path from there.
Written by our team
Two patient guides
Our surgeons and neurologists wrote a full-length guide for each therapy, drawn from three decades of caring for people with movement disorders. Most of the material on this site comes from them.
Sepehr Sani, MD · Neepa Patel, MD
Patient's Guide to Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery
Covers the history of DBS, plain-English definitions of the terms you will hear, the conditions DBS treats, what surgery and programming involve, risks and complications, and living well afterward.
Sepehr Sani, MD
Patient's Guide to MRI-Guided Focused Ultrasound
A practical guide to the MRgFUS process — from the decision to have the procedure, through the day-of detail of frame, helmet and sonications, to recovery, follow-up and bilateral treatment.
Ask for a copy
Our coordinators can explain how to obtain either guide. Call (312) 563-2032 or email neurofus@rush.edu.
By stage
A path through the site
Newly diagnosed
Understanding your condition
Weighing your options
Deciding on a treatment
Treatment is scheduled
Preparing
Afterward
Recovery and living with treatment
Also useful: general FAQs, DBS outcomes and risks, focused ultrasound outcomes and risks, and guides and practical information.
Not sure which resource you need?
Patients and families are welcome to contact the neuromodulation coordinators for help identifying which materials, forms or resources fit their situation.