Comparison of corpus callosotomy and vagus nerve stimulation in children with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.
OBJECTIVE
To compare the efficacy of corpus callosotomy and vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) for long-term adjunctive therapy in children with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS).


METHODS
Fourteen patients underwent a total corpus callosotomy and 10 patients received VNS implantation. The patients were monitored for more than 12 months after treatment, and seizure rates and complications were retrospectively evaluated.


RESULTS
Seizure types among the 24 patients included atonic or tonic seizures with head-drops in 17 patients, generalized tonic seizures in two patients, atypical absence seizures in one patient, generalized tonic-clonic seizures in one patient, and myoclonic seizures in three patients. Of the 14 patients who underwent a corpus callosotomy, nine (64.3%) had a greater than 50% reduction in seizure frequency and five (35.7%) had a greater than 75% reduction. Of the 10 patients who underwent VNS implantation, seven (70.0%) had a greater than 50% reduction in seizure frequency and two (20.0%) had a greater than 75% reduction. There was no significant difference between the two procedures in terms of final efficacy. Complications of corpus callosotomy included aphasia in one patient, ataxia in another, and paresis in a third. Among patients receiving VNS, one patient experienced dyspnea while sleeping and one patient suffered from drooling. These complications were transient and tolerable, and were controlled by simple adjustments of VNS treatment parameters.


CONCLUSIONS
The efficacy and safety of corpus callosotomy and VNS were comparable in children with LGS.
You
Su Jeong
SJ
Department of Pediatrics, Epilepsy Center, Sanggye Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Kang
Hoon-Chul
HC
Ko
Tae-Sung
TS
Kim
Heung Dong
HD
Yum
Mi-Sun
MS
Hwang
Yong Soon
YS
Lee
Jung-Kyo
JK
Kim
Dong Suk
DS
Park
Sang Keun
SK
D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D003337:Corpus Callosum / Q000601:surgery*; D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D011612:Psychosurgery / Q000379:methods*; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014630:Vagus Nerve / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000528:radiation effects