Epilepsy Surgery Improves Long-Term Outcomes

Hussan S. Mohammed, of the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, and associates conducted a long-term follow-up review of seizure and health related-quality of life outcomes for 361 patients who underwent epilepsy surgery. Participants were all treated by the same surgeon from 1967 to 1990 (mean follow-up duration, 26 years), and 117 completed follow-up interviews.

The researchers found that 48 percent of patients were Engel class I. Eighty percent of the respondents reported an improved overall quality of life compared with before the surgery, and seizure freedom correlated with improved quality of life. Postoperative complications were not significantly associated with long-term outcome. Better seizure outcomes were seen for patients who underwent temporal lobe resection, compared with those who underwent other types of procedures. There was a correlation seen between astatic seizures and bilateral surgery and a worse Engel class outcome.

"Our study demonstrates that the beneficial effects of epilepsy surgery are sustained over decades, and that these beneficial effects are correlated with an improved quality of life," the authors write.

Two authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry. One author holds patents pertaining to epilepsy surgery.

Abstract
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