Epilepsy surgery
Surgery is a treatment option for select patients with epilepsy. The goal of epilepsy surgery is to improve the quality of life for individuals who have not responded to epilepsy treatment with anti-seizure medications. In certain patients, epilepsy surgery may result in a seizure-free state, and also removal or reduction in the use of anti-epileptic drug therapy. This could result in a dramatic improvement in overall quality of life.
It is important to determine if surgical intervention is a possibility early on in the course of a seizure disorder because poorly controlled chronic epilepsy can bring about long-term language, memory, psychological, and social problems. In order to be a surgical candidate, all or most of the seizures should arise from a single part of the brain, and that part of the brain should have no important functions (for example, movement, sensation or speech activity).
We are very proud of working with some of the best neurosurgeons in the country. In recent years, they have received many national honors from their peers, including New York and New Jersey magazine Top Doctors honors, and US News and World Report America’s Top Doctors. Dr. Arno Fried, the senior neurosurgeon in the group has been in practice for 25 years and has performed more than 400 epilepsy surgeries.
We are also very proud of leading 3 Level IV epilepsy centers (maximum designation for the National Association of Epilepsy Centers) and the only recommended places to undergo epilepsy surgery.
To make an appointment with our surgical team please call (914) 428-9213
Potential testing involved in the pre-surgical evaluation includes:
Tests lo localize seizures
• Video-EEG monitoring
• Magnetoencephalography (MEG)
• Imaging:
- MRI with epilepsy protocol
- MR spectroscopy (MRS)
- PET scan
- SPECT scan
Tests to localize function and prevent potential deficits
• Neuropsychological Testing
• Wada Test
• Functional MRI (fMRI)