Meet Dr. O'Suilleabhain
Movement Disorders Specialist in Dallas
Neurologist Padraig O’Suilleabhain, M.D., says there’s an art to treating movement disorders patients – one based on science and reliant on training, skill, and experience.
“Because there are commonalities within diseases, but each patient’s health state and life circumstances are unique, a treatment plan combines individual considerations with approaches proven effective in research trials on large numbers of patients.
“We have to use the most up-to-date evidence plus personal judgment based on experience to decide which approach to use and how to administer it to best help this patient in this context,” he says. “That interface between the science and art of medicine is something I really like about my job.”
As a movement disorders specialist and researcher, Dr. O’Suilleabhain treats patients with conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, progressive supranuclear palsy, dystonia, tremor, Tourette’s syndrome, and Huntington’s disease. Movement disorders cause abnormal voluntary or involuntary movements. These are managed with physical therapies, medication, injections, and sometimes surgery.
“I help my patients navigate through these complicated conditions that can cause chronic difficulties and affect their function, physical presentation, and how they feel about themselves,” Dr. O’Suilleabhain says.
Dr. O’Suilleabhain is an expert in the latest treatments for movement disorders. These include injections of botulinum toxin to reduce muscle contractions and associated pain, and deep brain stimulation to help control symptoms.
“We take advantage of the newest treatments available and the research opportunities to help our patients as much as possible,” he says.
As a member of a team of movement disorders specialists at UT Southwestern, Dr. O’Suilleabhain and his colleagues provide a level of care that is hard to find elsewhere. The team is on-call for its patients 24 hours a day and communicates daily with patients through MyChart, UT Southwestern’s secure online communications tool. Dr. O’Suilleabhain says it’s important to him to give his patients the attention and support they need.
In addition to his patient care responsibilities, Dr. O’Suilleabhain is the Medical Director for outpatient neurology services. He recently completed an M.B.A. program with an emphasis on health care management.
