Efficacy and Complications of Bilateral Vim Lesioning and Bilateral Vim Deep Brain Stimulation for Essential…

ReviewStereotactic and functional neurosurgery· Aug 2026

Efficacy and Complications of Bilateral Vim Lesioning and Bilateral Vim Deep Brain Stimulation for Essential Tremor: Parallel Single-Arm Meta-Analyses and an Exploratory Matched Indirect Comparison.

Masaki Ujihara, Hirotaka Mori, Masahito Kawabori … Miki Fujimura

Stereotactic & FunctionalReviewQ2IF 2.2

Sensory disturbance was common and often persistent after bilateral Vim lesioning for tremor.

Efficacy and Complications of Bilateral Vim Lesioning and Bilateral Vim Deep Brain Stimulation for Essential Tremor: Parallel Single-Arm Meta-Analyses and an Exploratory Matched Indirect Comparison.

Masaki Ujihara … Miki Fujimura

Stereotactic and functional neurosurgery · Aug 2026 · Q2 in Surgery

Background

Bilateral ventral intermediate nucleus (Vim) deep brain stimulation (deep brain stimulation) is an established treatment for essential tremor, but infection, lead migration or fracture, and the need for battery replacement remain concerns.

Purpose

We aimed to estimate efficacy and complication rates and to explore differences between modalities.

Methods

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis.

n = 269 patients

22.9%

Results

22.9%

Sensory disturbance affected 22.9% of lesioning patients, often persisting long-term.

n = 269 patients

More results

Thirteen studies provided eligible single-arm data for 269 patients: 199 treated with deep brain stimulation and 70 with lesioning.

No randomized head-to-head trial was identified.

More results

Pooled mean changes in CRST Parts A+B were -25.4 points after deep brain stimulation and -23.5 after lesioning; corresponding changes in Parts A+B+C were -33.0 and -36.5.

Speech disturbance occurred in 26.1% after deep brain stimulation and 15.4% after lesioning; ataxia occurred in 15.6% and 12.9%, respectively.

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Conclusion

Both procedures were associated with reduced tremor scores. Comparative efficacy remains uncertain, and complication profiles differed. Lesioning avoids implanted hardware but may be associated with persistent sensory symptoms.

Efficacy and Complications of Bilateral Vim Lesioning and Bilateral Vim Deep Brain Stimulation for Essential Tremor: Parallel Single-Arm Meta-Analyses and an Exploratory Matched Indirect Comparison.

Efficacy and Complications of Bilateral Vim Lesioning and Bilateral Vim Deep Brain Stimulation for Essential Tremor: Parallel Single-Arm Meta-Analyses and an Exploratory Matched Indirect Comparison.

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