Epilepsy

Seizures aren’t always caused by epilepsy. Sometimes they’re brought on by other factors. Within the AdventHealth Neuroscience Institute network, our multidisciplinary approach helps assess seizures from a variety of perspectives, so we can gain a precise understanding of your condition and make an accurate diagnosis.

Some of the ways we can assess your condition include:

• Blood tests, which screen for genetic and metabolic disorders or conditions such as diabetes, anemia, infections and poisoning
• Brain imaging, like computed tomography (CT) and positron emission tomography (PET) scans and magnetic resonance imaging (MRIs)
• Cortical mapping to help the team relate seizure location to your key motor, speech or sensory areas
• Electroencephalograms (EEGs), which measure electrical activity in the brain and possibly reveal abnormalities
• Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to help determine if brain tissue, in the area of seizure focus, can be removed safely without affecting your ability to move your limbs, use language or obtain sensory input
• Magnetoencephalography (MEG), which is the first and only incisionless functional brain-imaging technology in Florida
• Medical history review to see if seizures have occurred before and assess symptoms
• Neurological testing to measure intellectual capability, reflexes, motor skills and behavior
• Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) to show areas of increased brain activity (seizures) related to increased blood flow to these areas
• WADA test, also known as the intracarotid sodium amobarbital (ISAP) procedure, to provide information regarding seizure focus proximity to key language or memory areas

Other tests for epilepsy include kidney and liver function tests and an examination of spinal fluid. Whatever your special case requires, our experts will personalize a diagnostic and treatment plan to help you move beyond seizures toward whole-person health.

This advanced medical imaging improves surgical outcomes by allowing images to be taken while you are still in the operating room. Thanks to this technology, we ensure the surgery is successful, minimizing the need for a second operation and reducing radiation exposure in our state-of-the-art neurological suites.

Laser interstitial thermal therapy, or LITT, does require surgery, but it uses a much smaller incision than typical brain surgery.

In this treatment for epilepsy, we implant a small neurostimulator connected to leads (tiny wires) that are placed in one or two seizure onset areas to prevent seizures from happening.

This robotic surgical assistant serves as a GPS for physicians during surgery, helping them remove only the tissue at the precise spot where seizures begin.

This option may be offered if you have intractable focal epilepsy and the location of seizure onset is uncertain (either the side of seizure onset cannot be identified or the location of seizure onset within a hemisphere cannot be identified).