Surgery on the thalamus can significantly improve the quality of life for people with tremor. The aim of a thalamotomy is to help to reduce the severity of your tremor. It will not provide a cure for the underlying cause. How much improvement people get is different from one person to another.

What is thalamotomy surgery?

Surgery Overview

Thalamotomy is the precise destruction of a tiny area of the brain called the thalamus that controls some involuntary movements. Before surgery, detailed brain scans using a CT scan or MRI are done to identify the precise location for treatment.

How effective is pallidotomy?

Globally, the result of the procedure was rated "good" or "excellent" by 64% of the patients who underwent unilateral pallidotomy and by 76% of the patients who underwent bilateral pallidotomy.