The parents of a girl who underwent a ground-breaking operation to stop constant fits have spoken about how they believe it has saved her life.

At the age of nine, Charlotte Hainsworth was suffering fits every few minutes before she under went surgery at St James's Hospital in Leeds three years ago.

An electronic implant was put in her chest, which was connected by wires to a nerve in her neck running to her brain.

It sends out a regular impulse to reduce the fits.

And it has been so successful, the daily cocktail of 18 tablets she took to reduce her seizures has been cut to two.

And her dad Tony, 46, of Long Lee, Keighley, said the frequency of Charlotte's fits has also been drastically reduced.

"I believe the implant saved my daughter's life," he said. "I don't believe she would have made it so far without it because her fits were so severe."

Charlotte, who cannot speak, is now 13 and is still a pupil at the David Lewis School, a special centre for people with epilepsy in Cheshire, but comes home every weekend to Keighley to be with her father and mother, Jo-Anne, 39.

"She loves coming home and riding in the car. She enjoys music. She is still a very severe epileptic but she does learn new skills," added Tony.

"The David Lewis School is a magnificent place and they do a wonderful job. There are workshops where the students can learn crafts and they teach living skills."

He said it was still a sadness that until Charlotte was aged about five, she could speak, but the seizures became so severe they impaired her intellectual development.

"But since the operation there has been a big improvement in her quality of life and she is happy," said Tony.

Kate Ward, Charlotte's doctor at Airedale General Hospital in Steeton, said the operation had been successful because it had reduced Charlotte's fits.

"To see somebody with seizures as bad as Charlotte's were is not common.

She said: "At the time of the operation it was the best therapeutic option.

"We can't turn the clock back and know what would have happened without the operation. Charlotte's fits were spiralling."

Dr Ward added that Charlotte would never be free from fits but her seizures are not now a major issue and there is a possibility her treatment can be further reduced.

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