Psychosocial Status Before and After Temporal Lobe Epilepsy Surgery

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this prospective work was to evaluate the relationship between seizure outcome and psychosocial status in patients who underwent temporal lobe epilepsy surgery for medically intractable seizure. METHODS: The Liverpool Psychosocial Battery, which includes physical, social, and psychological domains, was completed by 63 patients with temporal lobe epilepsy before surgery, as well as 6 months and 2 years after surgery. The differences regarding the Liverpool Psychosocial Battery domains were compared between seizure-free and nonseizure-free patients at 6 months and 2 years after surgery. Serial follow-up results were also compared with the baseline. RESULTS: On all measures, patients showed significantly better scores after surgery compared with the baseline (P < 0.05). Although seizure-free patients showed improved "psychosocial" outcome over those who continued to have seizures, the differences did not reach a significant level on social and psychological domains. CONCLUSION: Surgery has significantly positive effects on psychosocial outcome in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy. However, positive psychosocial changes are not limited to those patients who became seizure free after surgery.