Post-traumatic stress disorder and amygdala-hippocampectomy.
OBJECTIVE
The case report suggests the indispensability of preoperative accurate psychiatric checkups especially in temporal resections.


METHODS
A single case was reported.


RESULTS
We report the case of a 20-year-old woman suffering for 12 years from primary generalized epilepsy, attributed to left-sided hippocampal sclerosis. Because seizures were resistant to drug therapy, she underwent amygdala-hippocampectomy at the age of 18. Furthermore, she had previously been victim of childhood sexual abuse. Two weeks after epilepsy surgery, she manifested symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).


CONCLUSIONS
There is evidence that the amygdala-hippocampal region is both functionally and morphologically involved in the aetiology of PTSD. The removal of this marked neuroanatomical region and the resulting disconnection and asymmetry between right and left amygdala-hippocampal region might be seen as an evidence for this region aetiologically being involved in the patient's PTSD symptoms.
Adami
P
P
Department of Psychiatry I, Regional Hospital Rankweil, Rankweil, Austria. petra.adami@lkhr.at
König
P
P
Vetter
Z
Z
Hausmann
A
A
Conca
A
A
D000328:Adult; D000679:Amygdala / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D002648:Child; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000523:psychology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007179:Incest / Q000523:psychology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D019635:Neurosurgical Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011300:Preoperative Care; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy