Epilepsy surgery

Video 17 of 26
1 min 23 sec
English
English
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For an unfortunate few, neither anti-epileptic drugs nor a ketogenic diet will effectively control epilepsy. However, there are a number of different types of surgical operations that can be performed, and this will depend on the type of seizure and where exactly in the brain it starts. The factors which influence the decision on whether surgery is necessary or not include: whether or not the likelihood that seizures are due to epilepsy, the likelihood that the outcome will be positive, the ability to identify the type of seizure, and finally whether all other methods have been tried first.

The surgery for epilepsy centres around the brain and would involve either the removal of certain tissue from the area where seizures start or manually interrupting the nerve pathways along which seizure impulses spread. There are some contra-indications that mean surgery for epilepsy can only be offered as a last resort. Roughly 1 in 100 people undergoing a surgical procedure for epilepsy suffer a stroke, and around 5% suffer from subsequent memory difficulties. However, as the year's pass and advances in surgical procedures continue to increase, this will potentially become viable for more and more people.