Certain epilepsy patients who do not respond to medical therapy may be candidates for epilepsy surgery. Specifically, those patients with temporal lobe epilepsy who often experience confusion, staring spells or distinct auras, but may only rarely have generalized (grand mal) seizures.

The first step in planning surgery is localizing an epileptic focus in the brain. The Epilepsy Program's telemetry unit at USC University Hospital features some of the latest in digital technology. After an initial evaluation that may include EEG, MRI and PET scanning, the patient may be admitted to the unit for 24-hour inpatient scalp and sphenoidal electrode EEG/video telemetry. Medications are reduced in a safe environment in an effort to precipitate seizures. Average patient stays range from four to ten days.

Neuropsychologic testing is also used to help localize seizures and determine the region of the brain from which the seizures originate. A neuropsychological assessment helps neurologists and surgeons identify an epileptic focus and track changes in the patient's brain function before and after surgery.

If the seizure cannot be localized with scalp electrodes, patients may be candidates for inpatient intracranial EEG/video monitoring.

Once the source of epileptic seizures has been precisely determined, the stage is set for surgical intervention. Using a combination of advanced imaging techniques and advanced microscopic navigation, our neurosurgical team performs a resection, removing those tissues responsible for the seizures. The total duration of hospitalization due to surgery is usually about five days.