surgery success rate...

[Itr786]

Hi,
I'm currently undergoing various tests/scans to establish if I'm a candidate for surgery.

I'm going through all the relevant scans/tests as the process is so long, and as medication hasn't yet worked, I thought I'd get the ball rolling, and in the meantime keep trying different drugs/dosages with the hope I'm able to find something that works.

I'm currently on 200/200 lamotrigine and 750/750 keppra.

My question to those that have gone down the surgery route is, how normal of a life could I potentially live if I do decide to have it done?..

There's certain things in my life I would never dream of doing because of epilepsy, as they've always been triggers to having a seizure, for example I'm very strict with my sleeping pattern/not doing night shifts at work, or taking part in any sort of high intense sport, be it a game of football, or cycling etc...

Are these the sort of things I could consider doing after surgery, or is it a case of carrying on as I have been, not doing anything to potentially provoke a seizure in the future and (hopefully) be seizure free, and living my life as I have been?...

looking online, it seems even after surgery, and being seizure free for years, they'll always be the potential of going back to how it was, and the seizures starting up again?, how likely is that to happen?


Thanks.

 

[masterjen]

Depends in large part on the surgeon and surgical team, so check with the medical board on this.
Also depends on where your seizure focus is, and what part of the brain will be cut through to access this focus, and this is info. only your surgeon can inform you of.
And of course there are unforeseen complications that can occur during surgery, and you need to be sure your surgeon/neurologist explains these to you as well.

 

[Cint]

Are these the sort of things I could consider doing after surgery, or is it a case of carrying on as I have been, not doing anything to potentially provoke a seizure in the future and (hopefully) be seizure free, and living my life as I have been?...

looking online, it seems even after surgery, and being seizure free for years, they'll always be the potential of going back to how it was, and the seizures starting up again?, how likely is that to happen?

Hi Itr786,

I am one of those patients that had an unsuccessful temporal lobe surgery. But that was back in 1990 and was a Left Temporal Lobectomy. Since then, the procedure has improved, but it is still not 100% successful. I was seizure-free for 14 months, then they came back worse than before surgery. They came back as CP + TC every month. Plus, I have a bad memory now, trouble finding the right word(s) when speaking (aphasia), and suffer from depression, too. They were going to do a 2nd surgery but they said the damaged area was too deep in my hippocampus. If they were to go there, I would end up like an end stage Alzheimer patient, no memory of anyone or anything. NO THANKS! So we tried many more meds, to no avail. Now I have the Vagus Nerve Stimulator and would advise that any day over brain surgery.

But it all depends on the type of surgery they're talking about, where the damaged area is, etc. Think long and hard before letting the neurosurgeon cut.

And check this website for more info:
http://www.epilepsy.com/learn/treating-seizures-and-epilepsy/surgery/surgery-candidates