Epilepsy surgery
Epilepsy surgery, a brain operation, aims to make epilepsy patients seizure-free. Patients are eligible for epilepsy surgery if, even with medication, seizures remain that seriously affect their lives. Surgery is possible on the condition that the seizures provably originate in one specific area in the brains and that this area – the epilepsy source – can be operated on without considerable damage (e.g. paralysis, loss of speech or memory loss).
The possible effect of the operation must counterbalance the risks. If your neurologist feels that epilepsy surgery could be a treatment option for you or your child, you will undergo a very extensive trajectory that consists of multiple preliminary examinations during a longer period of time. (Lengthy) seizure registration, MRI-analysis and neuropsychological tests are part of this trajectory.
Most preliminary examinations and seizure registrations will take place in Kempenhaeghe. Possibly you or your child will have to go to Maastricht UMC+. This is also where the brain surgeries for children and adults take place. Your child may possibly be operated on in UMC Utrecht.
The epilepsy surgery trajectory can be intensive and lengthy. During each step of the trajectory, a special work group epilepsy surgery determines if continuation of the trajectory is sufficiently promising. The work group consists of medical specialists of the epilepsy centers and academic hospitals. Together with your neurologist and a nursing specialist you will discuss in every stage of the trajectory and after the green light of the work group epilepsy surgery whether you want to continue the trajectory yourself. When brain surgery has been done in an academic hospital, you or your child will be seen at Kempenhaeghe for the follow-up care.