Surgery for Seizures

Of the approximately 2 million Americans with a diagnosis of epilepsy who are treated with antiepileptic drugs, 20 percent continue to have seizures1; this group of patients accounts for over 75 percent of the cost of epilepsy in the United States.2 For many of those with medically refractory epilepsy, their disability can be completely eliminated by surgical intervention. Only a small percentage of potential surgical candidates, however, are currently referred to epilepsy-surgery centers.3 OverviewThe classic 1886 paper of Victor Horsley4 heralded the modern era of epilepsy surgery, and the introduction of electroencephalography (EEG) in the first half of . . .