Epilepsy care at Mayo Clinic
Your Mayo Clinic care team
Teamwork
Mayo Clinic experts in epilepsy care work together to provide individualized care to each patient.
Mayo Clinic's world-renowned epilepsy teams include neurologists, neurosurgeons, imaging specialists (radiologists), mental health specialists (neuropsychologists) and other professionals who work together to provide exactly the care you need.
Having all of this subspecialized expertise in a single place, focused on you, means that you're not just getting one opinion — your care is discussed among the team, your test results are available quickly, appointments are scheduled in coordination, and the most highly specialized epilepsy experts in the world are all working together for you.
What might take months to accomplish elsewhere can typically be done in only a matter of days at Mayo Clinic.
Personalized care
At Mayo Clinic, your doctor takes the time to listen to you and understand your needs.
Advanced diagnosis & treatment
Advanced diagnosis and treatment
Mayo Clinic care teams are equipped with the latest in technology and expertise to provide leading-edge diagnosis and treatment techniques.
New technologies can accurately identify the seizure focus.
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New techniques lead to more precise diagnosis and better treatment.
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Electrical Brain Stimulation for Epilepsy.
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Below the surface of pediatric epilepsy.
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Mayo Clinic epilepsy care teams use advanced technology, including subtraction ictal SPECT coregistered to MRI (SISCOM), electroencephalography, computerized tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography and other tests to accurately diagnose epilepsy. Each Mayo Clinic location offers inpatient video-EEG epilepsy monitoring.
With state-of-the-art research and laboratory facilities, Mayo Clinic experts are constantly seeking medical discoveries and innovations for people with epilepsy. Today's research teams are studying potential treatments, including new medications and new surgical options. A variety of clinical trials and other clinical studies may be available to you at Mayo Clinic.
Mayo Clinic has expertise in the management and treatment of epilepsy, including complex epilepsy syndromes such as Dravet and Lennox-Gastaut syndromes, and epilepsy requiring advanced surgical and neuromodulation approaches. Treatment options at Mayo Clinic to eliminate seizures or reduce the frequency and intensity of seizures in children and adults include medications, vagus nerve stimulation, surgery, awake brain surgery, ketogenic diet and more.
Mayo Clinic is one of the leading deep brain stimulation implantation sites in the country — and one of the few facilities to have offered this advanced procedure prior to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. Deep brain stimulation can significantly reduce seizures in people whose epilepsy is difficult to treat. Experts at Mayo Clinic have performed deep brain stimulation for a decade with good effectiveness, so they're able to offer you the highest levels of safety and experience.
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Advancements in epilepsy diagnostics and treatment
Nationally recognized expertise
The National Association of Epilepsy Centers rates all Mayo Clinic campuses as Level 4 epilepsy centers, providing the highest level of diagnosis and treatment options for people with epilepsy.
Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., are ranked among the Best Hospitals for neurology and neurosurgery by U.S. News & World Report. Mayo Clinic in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Ariz., is ranked highly performing for neurology and neurosurgery by U.S. News & World Report. Mayo Clinic also ranks among the Best Children's Hospitals for neurology and neurosurgery.
The Mayo Clinic experience and patient stories
Our patients tell us that the quality of their interactions, our attention to detail and the efficiency of their visits mean health care like they've never experienced. See the stories of satisfied Mayo Clinic patients.
Now seizure free, epilepsy patient shares her music as a blessing to others
Destiny Rhodes finds solace in music. Diagnosed with temporal-lobe epilepsy when she was 17 months old, Destiny says when she started playing guitar as a teenager, it became a constant source of comfort during her uncertain health. Despite medication, Destiny's seizures continued for more than 20 years, often occurring several times a week. The medication [...]
After years with hundreds of seizures each day, patient finds relief with innovative treatment
When Eric Berg's seizures increased to the point they took over his life despite medications to control them, he sought help from Mayo Clinic. A new treatment gave him hope and a chance to live his life again. Since he was a child, Eric Berg, has had seizures due to epilepsy. This past year, his seizures [...]
Fresh Approach to Epilepsy Treatment Rekindles Zest for Life
Janice Breien was anxious to find a better way to manage the seizures that regularly disrupted her daily life. Enter her Mayo care team -- ready to listen and provide solutions. Now, with her seizures under control, Janice has a renewed sense of optimism. "I went through years of not being able to do anything," [...]
With Her Seizures in the Past, Keeley Faces a Promising Future
Photo courtesy of Sonya Schultz Photography For years, Keeley Allen and her family lived in fear that a seizure would strike and render the teen helpless. Unresponsive to medication, the seizures were unusual and ambiguous. Worse than the unpredictability of the seizures was the uncertainty about how to make them stop. At Mayo Clinic, however, [...]
Regaining Control After a Decade of Epilepsy
Before coming to Mayo Clinic, Denny Hinshaw had lived with epileptic seizures for more than 10 years, and they were eroding his personal and professional life. Since Denny came to Mayo Clinic for care, however, all that is in the past. Near the end of December 2018, Denny Hinshaw turned on the TV in his [...]
Careful Evaluation, Teamwork Lead to Successful Epilepsy Surgery
Kristy, Declyn and Gavin Vreeland There was a time when Gavin Vreeland was afraid he might hurt his daughter should he have a seizure while caring for her. Despite taking medication, his epileptic episodes happened frequently and without warning. But after specialized imaging and targeted brain surgery at Mayo Clinic, Gavin is now happily embracing [...]
Expertise and rankings
Experienced specialists
Mayo Clinic specialists have the experience and resources to provide expert, personalized care to every patient.
Mayo Clinic's epilepsy experts provide comprehensive care for adults and children with epilepsy each year.
- Teamwork. Mayo Clinic neurologists, neurosurgeons, imaging specialists (radiologists), mental health specialists (neuropsychologists) and others work together to diagnose and treat adults and children with epilepsy.
- Advanced diagnostic tools. Mayo Clinic doctors use advanced technology, including subtraction ictal SPECT coregistered to MRI (SISCOM), electroencephalography, computerized tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography and other tests to accurately diagnose epilepsy.
- The latest techniques and technology. Mayo Clinic doctors have expertise treating epilepsy with medications, vagus nerve stimulation, surgery, awake brain surgery, ketogenic diet and other options. Mayo Clinic surgeons use computer-assisted brain surgery to precisely operate in your brain.
- Nationally recognized expertise. The National Association of Epilepsy Centers rates all Mayo Clinic campuses as Level 4 epilepsy centers, providing the highest level of diagnosis and treatment options for people with epilepsy.
Care focused on you
At Mayo Clinic, doctors take the time to listen and understand your concerns so that you get exactly the care you need.
Learn more about Mayo Clinic's neurosurgery and neurology departments' expertise and rankings.
Locations, travel and lodging
Mayo Clinic has major campuses in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona; Jacksonville, Florida; and Rochester, Minnesota. The Mayo Clinic Health System has dozens of locations in several states.
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Costs and insurance
Mayo Clinic works with hundreds of insurance companies and is an in-network provider for millions of people.
In most cases, Mayo Clinic doesn't require a physician referral. Some insurers require referrals, or may have additional requirements for certain medical care. All appointments are prioritized on the basis of medical need.
Learn more about appointments at Mayo Clinic.
Please contact your insurance company to verify medical coverage and to obtain any needed authorization prior to your visit. Often, your insurer's customer service number is printed on the back of your insurance card.
Mayo Clinic Epilepsy Center
Arizona
Florida
Minnesota