Epilepsy surgery is recommended only after a thorough evaluation. There are several types of surgery. One type of surgery is called resective, referring to removal of abnormal brain tissue. The efficacy of resective surgery for certain kinds of partial epilepsies is well documented. The surgery is safe and well tolerated, and the majority of patients experience substantial improvement or gain complete control of their seizures. Another type of surgery, called a corpus callosotomy, may be performed when resective surgery is not possible. This surgery is reserved for specific kinds of epilepsy. It can reduce seizures and eliminate injury in patients with generalized tonic-clonic, tonic or atonic seizures.
Temporal and extratemporal cortical resections, lesion resections, hemispherectomies and corpus callosotomies
are the main surgeries performed at the Columbia Comprehensive Epilepsy Center. Since seizures are often associated with abnormal tangles of blood vessels, called
arteriovenous malformations (AVMs)
, the CCEC also collaborates with the Stroke Center at the Neurological Institute.
