title: Comparison of corpus callosotomy and vagus nerve stimulation in children with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Epilepsy Center, Sanggye Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Su Jeong
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: You
authors.forename: Hoon-Chul
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Tae-Sung
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Ko
authors.forename: Heung Dong
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Mi-Sun
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Yum
authors.forename: Yong Soon
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: Jung-Kyo
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Dong Suk
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sang Keun
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: 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