Types of epilepsy brain surgery

There are many different types of epilepsy brain surgery. The type your child might have depends on their type of seizures, and where the seizures begin in their brain. Here are some of the most commonly performed types of epilepsy surgery.

Focal resection

This is done when surgeons are sure which part of the brain the seizures start in. Your child would have a small part of their brain removed. Although this sounds worrying, the surgeon would only take away damaged parts that your child doesn’t need. If the part of the brain causing the seizures is in the temporal lobe, the surgery is called a temporal resection. If the part of the brain causing the seizures is in one of the other lobes, it is an extra-temporal resection. 

Epilepsy Action has information about the different lobes of the brain.

Multiple subpial transection

This surgery is not very common but is performed when it’s not possible to remove the part of the brain that’s causing the seizures. The surgeon will make a series of cuts to separate the damaged part of the brain from the surrounding area. This stops seizures moving from one part of the brain to other parts.

Corpus callosotomy

This is for children who have sudden generalised seizures, such as drop attacks and some myoclonic seizures. Drop attacks is the name given to the seizure types called ‘atonic’, and ‘tonic’. This surgery separates the two hemispheres (halves) of the brain. It may be done if there are severe seizures that start in one hemisphere, and spread to the other.

Hemispherectomy

This is major surgery to separate, or remove, one half of the outer layer of the brain from the other. It is performed in children who have seizures because one half of their brain is badly damaged or not working properly. Sometimes the hemisphere is not removed but just completely disconnected from the rest of the brain. This is called ‘hemispherotomy’.

For more information about different types of epilepsy brain surgery go to GOSH website.