Epilepsy

Surgery

Mayo Clinic epilepsy patients nearly or completely seizure-free after surgery

Mayo Clinic epilepsy surgery volumes

Although many patients control their seizures effectively with medication, about 30 percent do not, either because the medication isn't effective, because it has unacceptable side effects, or both. For some of these patients, surgery is the most appropriate treatment option.

Typically, during epilepsy surgery, surgeons remove the portion of the brain that is causing the seizures. Although the procedure is relatively safe and effective, finding the hot spot (the exact location of the electrical misfiring in the brain that causes seizures) may be extremely challenging.

Historically, the results of tests used to look for epilepsy hot spots often have been inconclusive. As a result, one treatment option for patients with severe cases of epilepsy has been the removal of most or all of one side of the brain to ensure removal of all seizure hot spots. This radical surgery can leave serious mental and physical disabilities. In other cases, surgery was eliminated as an option when physicians were unable to pinpoint the hot spot.

SISCOM-identified hot spots

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SISCOM

An imaging technique developed at Mayo Clinic in the late 1990s gives patients with epilepsy a better chance of successful surgical outcomes. Subtraction Ictal SPECT Co-registered to MRI (SISCOM) uses proven imaging technology with computer software to pinpoint seizure hot spots so that neurosurgeons can verify anatomic location and remove hot spots safely.

SISCOM can be used for patients of all ages. One published study showed that SISCOM correctly located seizure hot spots in more than 88 percent of cases.

Learn more about SISCOM.

Mayo Publications

Read published articles on SISCOM by Mayo Clinic doctors on PubMed, a service of the National Library of Medicine.