A young Saudi national living in the holy city of Makkah searched worldwide for treatment to relieve his facial spasms. Eyad Mashat, 38, traveled to England, France, Switzerland and all over the Middle East to see specialists who might stop the severe twitching on the left side of his face. “I tried different treatments: medication, meditation, yoga, even kinesiology,” Mashat said. “Nothing worked for me.” That is, until he went to Erie, Pennsylvania, a major city in the Great Lakes region of the US. Mashat underwent decompression surgery Tuesday at UPMC Hamot. Now his face is virtually spasm-free, GOERIE.com website reported Friday. “Look, nothing,” Mashat said, pulling gently on the bottom of his left eyelid. “The spasms have gone back where they came from.” Mashat discovered Erie after researching Raymond Sekula, M.D., the Hamot neurosurgeon who did his procedure. It's part of a growing trend for the physician, who is considered one of the world's leading experts in decompression surgery. The surgery involves cushioning facial nerves that are compressed by blood vessels on the outside of the brain. Mashat first learned about Sekula from an international facial-spasms support group on Facebook. Then he searched for the neurosurgeon on Google. Sekula's 94 percent success rate for more than 250 patients with hemifacial spasms, and the glowing recommendations his patients posted online, were enough to persuade Mashat to give Hamot a call. Though he lives more than 6,600 miles from Erie, Mashat consulted with Sekula in October via a Skype video conference. Mashat also sent his medical records to Hamot. “His case was something we could treat here,” Sekula was quoted by the website as saying. The surgery lasted only two and a half hours, and the results were immediate. “The spasms were 95 percent better right away,” Mashat's brother said. “Also, his confidence really increased. He was always asked what was wrong with his face, and how can he fix it. Now the problem is over,” he said.
