The neurosurgical treatment of epilepsy.
Despite the new advancements in antiepileptic drug development, thousands of people with epilepsy will remain intractable to medication. For a considerable proportion of these people, epilepsy surgery is a consideration for better control of their seizures. Resective surgery is now standard practice for patients with medication-refractory epilepsy. Temporal lobectomy continues to be the most common surgery performed. Once patients fail 2 to 3 optimal trials of antiepileptic medication, further drug therapy offers a minimal number of patients freedom from seizures. In contrast, temporal lobectomy in carefully selected patients may result in seizure-free outcomes in more than 70% to 90% of patients with intractable seizures. As technology and drug availability increases in the new millennium, it is important for the primary care physician to be aware of epilepsy surgery as a means to treat patients with antiepileptic drug-refractory epilepsy. Arch Fam Med. 2000;9:1142-1147
Tatum
W O
WO
Department of Neurology, Tampa General Hospital Epilepsy Center, University of South Florida, USA. WOTIV@aol.com
Benbadis
S R
SR
Vale
F L
FL
D001921:Brain / Q000601:surgery*; D003337:Corpus Callosum / Q000601:surgery; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D016343:Monitoring, Intraoperative; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000601:surgery