Will I need to take anti-epileptic medications after surgery?
We recommend continuing the medication for at least two years, after which medications can be reduced and even stopped in certain cases where the seizures are well controlled.
What are complications with epilepsy surgery?
Epilepsy surgery is a carefully planned procedure, carried out under optimal circumstances to remove the region of brain causing the seizures, and to spare parts of the brain necessary for everyday functions.
Complications are very infrequent in epilepsy surgery, major complications like motor deficits, language deficits, vegetative states and disabilities are seen in 3-5% of cases. Other treatable complications like infections, prolonged hospitalizations, transient deficits, speech problems, mood problems, visual field deficits are common and do not alter the normal daily life. Overall, epilepsy surgery is safe surgery, and it improves quality of life of many patients and their care takers significantly.
What are the chances of improvement after epilepsy surgery?
Chances of seizure control depend on many variables and varies between 50-90%. If MRI shows some lesion which could be completely removed, then 9 out of 10 people can achieve seizure freedom and almost 6 out of 10 patients can be off medicine. However, outcome is in the magnitude of 50% with palliative surgeries. Outcome typically depends on the responsible pathology.
What are different types of epilepsy surgeries?
Epilepsy surgeries are of two types. In patients where we find a small, focal brain area responsible for epilepsy, we go for resection of that area. These surgeries are called curative surgeries where once that area is removed; patient will be mostly free of epilepsy. However, there is a group of patients in which a large area is responsible, or we could not define a small area or removing complete area is not feasible; surgeries are meant to just reduce seizure frequency and improve quality of life. These surgeries are called palliative surgeries.
