Developments in Brief : Half of Infant Boy’s Brain Is Removed

Pediatric surgeons in Cincinnati have removed half the brain of an infant in hopes of stopping his potentially fatal seizures, and they are giving the 7-month-old boy a good chance of living a fairly normal life.

Dr. Kerry Crone of Children’s Hospital Medical Center said last week that doctors removed most of the right side of Brent Hammergren’s brain because he suffered from a rare developmental ailment that causes frequent, dangerous seizures.

Hospital officials said it is the first known case in the United States--and the second worldwide, after one in Scotland--in which a child with the disorder not only survived the surgery but apparently has benefited from it.

Brent and his parents, Thomas and Kimberly, also attended the news conference in the hospital. Brent, their first child, cooed, gurgled and occasionally reached out from his mother’s arms as he looked around. His operation took place Dec. 30.

He might be able to live a fairly normal life because when half the brain is removed at such an early age, its functions often transfer naturally to the brain’s remaining portion, Crone said. In an older person, removal of the brain’s right side would paralyze the body’s left side and would eliminate other functions associated with the brain’s right side, including creativity.

Brent was sent home Jan. 16. Crone has been seeing the infant three times a week to monitor his progress. Kimberly Hammergren told reporters that Brent has been substantially more active since the surgery.

Crone said it is too early to tell whether Brent’s mental development will be normal, but his accelerated development since the surgery is a good sign, Crone said.

The boy began having seizures 13 days after he was born July 21. They became worse, totaling as many as 130 in a row before his operation. Doctors identified his disease as hemimegalencephaly, a rare disorder.

Without surgery, Brent had no chance of being normal physically or mentally and he likely would have been in a vegetative state, Crone said. He also could have died from the seizures.

“He never used to follow me and smile when I was in the room. Now, to look at him and see him smile--it just melts you,” Kimberly Hammergren said. “He reaches for his toys. He has oodles of toys, but he never played with them.”