Epilepsy Surgery

Epilepsy surgery can refer to a number of procedures that neurosurgeons are able to perform to help control the frequency and severity of seizures in children and adults. One such surgery is a corpus callosotomy, which is used in limited situations where a patient’s seizures are severe and disabling. Here, the spread of seizures is interrupted by disconnecting certain nerve fibers that connect the right and left hemispheres of the brain. Another option is called electrode grid placement, where electrodes are implanted on the brain’s surface close to the spot where seizures are focused. The electrodes are employed to help with cortical mapping so that when they are removed, the focus of the seizures can be removed as well. A third type of epilepsy surgery, called functional hemispherotomy, involves the surgical separation of the two hemispheres of the brain and is only used in the most severe cases. Resective surgery is any operation in which brain tissue that houses a seizure focus is removed, and when this is not an option, vagal nerve stimulator surgery may be considered. This type of surgery involves implanting a pacemaker-like device in the chest area that sends electrical impulses through the vagal nerve to the brain in order to prevent seizures.