Insular epilepsy surgery under neuronavigation guidance using depth electrode.
OBJECTIVE
The unfavorable surgical results that have been reported with insular epilepsy surgery may be related to inadequate monitoring. Insular epilepsy surgery requires the precise monitoring and tailored removal of the epileptic zone. The purposes of this study were to precisely monitor the hidden cortex and determine the effectiveness of using different monitoring methods, including subpial depth electrodes.


METHODS
This is a study of a single center series of six patients (three men, three women) who underwent insular surgery between May 2006 and December 2007. All patients had experienced medically intractable seizures without any evidence of a tumorous condition based on previous examination. We used strip electrode implantation in one patient and stereotactic depth electrode insertion in two patients, which resulted in partial removal of the insular. The other three patients underwent open direct subpial depth electrode insertion, which resulted in total removal of the insular cortex.


RESULTS
There were no surgery-related complications with the insulectomy after insertion of the subpial depth electrodes, regardless of the monitoring method or extent of removal. All patients except for one showed considerable improvement in epilepsy (83.3% Engle class I, 16.5% Engle class II). In the three patients who had open direct subpial depth electrodes inserted, we achieved total insulectomy without increasing the surgical morbidity, while in the other three patients, the insular removal was only partial.


CONCLUSIONS
We demonstrate that image-guided insular surgery with safe and accurate depth electrode guidance results in an optimal outcome and complete resection of the insular cortex.
Park
Young Seok
YS
Pediatric Neurosurgery, Pediatric Epilepsy Clinic, Severance Children's Hospital, Department of Neurosurgery, Brain Research Institute, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 134, Shinchon-dong, Seodaemoon-gu, Seoul 120-752, Republic of Korea.
Lee
Yun Ho
YH
Shim
Kyu Won
KW
Lee
Yoon Jin
YJ
Kim
Heung Dong
HD
Lee
Joon-Soo
JS
Kim
Dong-Seok
DS
D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004567:Electrodes, Implanted; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D016343:Monitoring, Intraoperative / Q000379:methods*; D038361:Neuronavigation / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D019635:Neurosurgical Procedures / Q000379:methods; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome