Brain surgery
When drug therapy fails to control the severity and recurrence of seizures, the physician may consider alternative treatments. In only a few instances is surgery indicated when the origin of the seizure, such as a lesion, is located in a very specific region of the brain. To determine whether or not surgery is feasible, a number of diagnostic tests are conducted. Importantly, the benefit must outweigh the risk.
Once the local cause of seizures has been identified, it can be surgically removed while leaving the adjacent tissue intact. It is essential to confirm that the surgical target tissue is not a control area for integral functions of movements or senses.
Another method for dealing with the localised cause of a seizure is to avoid surgical excision of the affected area and instead control the seizures by severing the connection between the origin and its neuronal conduction pathway.
Both of these methods are extremely intrusive. Surgery necessitates extensive pre-evaluation. In an initial phase, investigative procedures are conducted to determine the location of the target tissue, as well as to assess the viability of the procedure and any potential surgical risks.
