Dr. K. Singh Sahni

At HCA Virginia, we proactively embrace technology and innovation to tackle healthcare’s biggest challenges and transform the way patient care is delivered. Here at Johnston-Willis Hospital, we are pioneering a procedure to treat essential tremor (ET), which affects an estimated 10 million Americans. Essential tremor can be debilitating for many patients and often interferes with daily life tasks, such as eating, drinking, cooking, writing, and working on a computer. For most patients, treatment for ET is medication. When cases are more severe, patients have a choice of surgical options that includes deep brain stimulation (DBS), Gamma Knife, and now focused ultrasound (FUS).

Focused ultrasound provides patients suffering from a debilitating tremor with an incision-less treatment option, which can often be performed on an outpatient basis with a short recovery time. Johnston-Willis Hospital of HCA Virginia was the first private institution to use focused ultrasound for essential tremors. Our team has successfully completed over 100 focused ultrasound procedures. I have performed over 10,000 neurosurgery procedures in my 40-year career, and focused ultrasound has proven to be one of the most rewarding procedures and may be one of the very few leading to instant gratification for the patient, their families, and our nursing team. After the procedure, patients are tested to drink from a water bottle and also to write their name – something that most have not been able to do for many years. The instant results of being able to do these tasks is regarded by most families as nothing short of a “miracle”. I can see their delight in the improvement in their quality of life that is happening right at that moment.

By offering the latest technological advances such as Gamma Knife, a incisionless tool that treats brain tumors on an outpatient basis and now focused ultrasound for patients with essential tremors and Parkinson's, HCA Virginia provides the best outcomes for patients and provides safer alternatives to traditional brain surgery. Thousands of our patients — some of whom have traveled to Richmond from across the country — are now able to return to an active and independent lifestyle quicker than ever before.

As a learning health system committed to innovation, HCA Virginia’s future-focused environment is a key differentiator as a provider of highly advanced neurosurgical care in Central Virginia and across the Commonwealth. By leveraging new innovations and developing technology-driven, patient-centric solutions, HCA Virginia is helping design the healthcare landscape of the future.

K. Singh Sahni, MD, is the Medical Director of the Neuroscience and Gamma Knife Center at HCA Virginia’s Johnston-Willis Hospital