Epilepsy Surgery

This procedure severs the connection between the left and right hemispheres of the brain, disrupting the seizure’s ability to spread from one side of the brain to the other via neurons. It is most frequently used to reduce seizure severity in children but is an option for patients of any age.

This procedure involves cutting away, or resecting, brain tissue where seizures occur. “Non-temporal” means that the seizure focus is located outside the temporal lobe.

During a lesionectomy, the surgeon removes a small abnormality called a lesion from your brain. A lesion could be anything from an injury scar to a brain tumor to an abnormal blood vessel. Typically this procedure removes less tissue than a temporal or focal non-temporal resection.

Resection of affected tissue is also an option for patients whose seizure focus lies in the temporal lobe. This is the most common epilepsy procedure and can involve the removal of part or all of the temporal lobe.

Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is another procedure used to treat epilepsy. During a VNS procedure, the surgeon does not remove the part of the brain where the seizures occur, but rather implants a device that resembles a pacemaker in the chest. This device stimulates one of the patient’s two vagus nerves (which run down each side of the body from the brainstem down to the abdomen), sending electrical signals to the brain.