# Functional brain surgery in Barcelona: neuromodulation and DBS

> Functional neurosurgery: surgical treatment of Parkinson's disease, refractory epilepsy, trigeminal neuralgia, essential tremor and dystonia. Neuromodulation and DBS. Care for national and international patients.

URL: https://brainandspine-bcn.com/en/brain-surgery/functional-neurosurgery/
Fuente: Brain & Spine Barcelona — https://brainandspine-bcn.com

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# Functional neurosurgery: epilepsy, movement and pain

Functional neurosurgery modulates nervous system circuits in order to control symptoms that do not respond to medication: refractory epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, essential tremor, dystonia and chronic neurogenic pain.

Reviewed by
Dr. Pedro Roldán Ramos
, neurosurgeon · Last medical review: 07/05/2026

## Three areas, one aim: restoring function

**Functional neurosurgery** brings together techniques that alter the activity of brain or spinal cord circuits without removing tissue. The three main areas are: **movement disorders** (Parkinson's disease, essential tremor and dystonia treated with DBS), **refractory epilepsy** (resection of the focus, robotic SEEG, VNS) and **chronic neurogenic pain** (trigeminal neuralgia treated by microvascular decompression). Every case is assessed by a multidisciplinary board before surgery is recommended.

## Conditions we treat

### Parkinson's disease and DBS

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) for Parkinson's disease, essential tremor and dystonia. It reduces medication by up to 75% and substantially improves quality of life.

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### Refractory epilepsy

Resection of the epileptogenic focus, SEEG with depth electrodes, VNS and corpus callosotomy. 60–70% of selected cases become seizure-free.

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### Trigeminal neuralgia

Microvascular decompression (MVD/Jannetta), stereotactic radiosurgery and percutaneous rhizotomy. MVD achieves 85–90% success at 1 year.

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## The neurosurgeons who treat it

### Dr. Pedro Roldán Ramos

Neurosurgeon · Functional neurosurgery, DBS and FUS
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## Answers to your questions

Which conditions does functional neurosurgery cover?
Functional neurosurgery brings together the surgical treatment of three broad areas: movement disorders (Parkinson's disease, essential tremor, dystonia), drug-resistant epilepsy and chronic neurogenic pain (trigeminal neuralgia). In every case the aim is to modulate the activity of nervous system circuits rather than to remove tissue.
What are the main techniques?
The main techniques are: deep brain stimulation (DBS) for Parkinson's disease, tremor and dystonia; resection of the epileptogenic focus and SEEG with depth electrodes for refractory epilepsy; and microvascular decompression (MVD/Jannetta) for trigeminal neuralgia. VNS, corpus callosotomy, radiosurgery and percutaneous rhizotomy are also used depending on the case.
Where can you be treated?
In our unit: a multidisciplinary team of neurosurgeons specialising in functional neurosurgery with minimally invasive techniques (endoscopic Ultra MISS, microsurgery and robotics), intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring and a multidisciplinary board where appropriate. We care for national and international patients, with a remote second opinion before you travel.

## What the clinical guidelines say

> "Surgery should be considered in any patient with drug-resistant epilepsy after the failure of 2 adequately prescribed antiepileptic regimens. Delayed referral is one of the most relevant modifiable prognostic factors."

## Related resources

→ Parkinson's disease and DBS
→ Refractory epilepsy
→ Trigeminal neuralgia
→ Occipital nerve block
→ Chronic headaches and migraine

## What our patients say

5,0
Average rating on Doctoralia · testimonials anonymised with consent
"I arrived with a glioma I had been told was inoperable. Here they reviewed it at the tumour board and offered me a plan. The surgery was a success. Four years on, I am well."

"For years I had a cervical disc herniation, operated on by another team with no improvement. Minimally invasive surgery gave me back my mobility and took the pain away."

"I travelled from outside Spain. The team reviewed my case before I came and gave me a clear plan. Caring people and impeccable technique."

_**A multidisciplinary team by your side.** Neurosurgeons, neurologists and nursing staff working together on every case. [Meet the whole team →](https://brainandspine-bcn.com/en/team/)_