title: An overview of surgery for chronic seizures.
abstract: Intracranial surgical intervention offers the potential to reduce or eliminate seizures in a substantial number of patients with medically intractable epilepsy. Although some patients with epilepsy have a pathologic condition that can be imaged radiographically, this is not a requirement for the patient to be considered a surgical candidate. Evaluation in a comprehensive epilepsy center includes defining the characteristics of the seizures; integrating medical criteria, psychosocial factors, imaging findings, and surgical risks; and weighing these factors against the risks of continued, uncontrolled epilepsy. Several neurosurgical procedures are available to help these patients, including frontal and temporal lobectomy, lesionectomy, subpial transection, and callosotomy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurologic Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, Ariz, USA.
authors.forename: Richard S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Zimmerman
authors.forename: Joseph I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Sirven
mesh_terms: D002908:Chronic Disease; D003337:Corpus Callosum / Q000601:surgery; D003399:Craniotomy / Q000379:methods*; D004828:Epilepsies, Partial / Q000601:surgery; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery* / Q000628:therapy; D017034:Epilepsy, Frontal Lobe / Q000601:surgery; D004833:Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008487:Medical History Taking; D010808:Physical Examination; D012640:Seizures / Q000601:surgery; D016896:Treatment Outcome