Tourette's syndrome is a complex neuropsychiatric disorder, characterized by
tics. Bilateral globus pallidus internus (GPi)
deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been considered to be an effective treatment for refractory
Tourette's syndrome. Postoperative outcomes are described after 12 months' follow-up in a 41-year-old male patient and a 22-year-old male patient with
Tourette's syndrome, both of whom underwent unilateral
electrode implantations into the right GPi for DBS. These patients were diagnosed with
Tourette's syndrome in childhood and, despite long-term
therapy with a range of
antipsychotic medications, continued to experience disabling
tics in adulthood. Improvements in
tic severity of 58.5% and 53.1% were observed at 12 months in the older and younger patient, respectively; improvements were determined by the Yale Global
Tic Severity Scale. Both patients also experienced reductions in
tic frequency and reported improvements in their health-related quality of life. Improvements in
tics were similar to previous reports involving patients who underwent bilateral GPi DBS. These cases suggest that unilateral DBS of the right GPi is effective and might be a viable surgical choice for some patients with
Tourette's syndrome.