Postoperative psychoses in epileptic patients after temporal lobectomy.
BACKGROUND
Psychosis is the most severe psychiatric complication after epilepsy surgery.


METHODS
We evaluated postoperatively at 1 year the psychoses of a series of 57 adult patients with intractable epilepsy who underwent temporal lobe surgery.


RESULTS
Five patients (8.8%) developed postoperative psychosis. Two (3.5%) of these 5 revealed postictal psychotic episodes in connection with persisting seizures, both of them had had similar episodes even preoperatively. Two patients (3.5%) exhibited a definite and one patient (1.8%) a probable de novo schizophrenia.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings clearly emphasize the need for careful postoperative psychiatric follow-up for patients with temporal lobectomy.
Leinonen
E
E
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Vaajasalo, Hospital Kuopio, Finland.
Tuunainen
A
A
Lepola
U
U
D000328:Adult; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology; D004833:Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019965:Neurocognitive Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D011612:Psychosurgery; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*