For Many, Epilepsy Surgery Effective Long-Term Almost half of
patients are seizure-free 10 years later, study finds. THURSDAY,
Oct. 13 (HealthDay News) — Almost half of the people who undergo
surgery for epilepsy remain free of seizures 10 years later, a
new study finds. Current practice is to treat patients with
medication, and only when drugs can't control seizures — often
many years later — does a patient become a candidate for
surgery. This study suggests that some patients with focal
epilepsy — the most common form of the seizure disorder — should
be eligible for surgery sooner, the British researchers said. of
focal epilepsy that does not respond to medication can result in
remission of seizures, with 82 percent of individuals having
great benefit and [many] never having another seizure," said
lead researcher Dr. John Duncan, a professor of neurology at the
National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery and Imperial
College London in England. Based on these results, "Epilepsy
surgery should be conside