The early years of hemispherectomy.
Today, hemispherectomy is a well-established procedure for the treatment of some sorts of catastrophic epilepsies. This, however, has not always been the case. The technique was developed to deal with brain tumors; however, the initial results were not remarkable. Moreover, when its morbidity became evident, it was almost abandoned. Had it not been for a shift in its use, with a huge increase in operations on patients with infantile hemiplegia, this surgery would certainly have disappeared. This paper focuses on the facts that surrounded these early years.
University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. almeidaan@globe.com
Antonio Nogueira
AN
de Almeida
Raul
R
Marino
D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000601:surgery; D006429:Hemiplegia / Q000601:surgery; D038421:Hemispherectomy / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans