Discussion on the causes of failure of surgical treatment of partial epilepsies.
Despite continuous improvement in diagnosis and surgery, persistence of seizures following surgical treatment of partial epilepsies still occurs in a relevant number of cases (30--40%). The analysis of personal material and of data from the literature appears to indicate that relevant causes of surgical failure are difficulties in delimitation of the epileptogenic zone and therefore of complete surgical removal. These difficulties are illustrated and discussed.
D004569:Electroencephalography; D004828:Epilepsies, Partial / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans