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Long‐term outcome of resective epilepsy surgery in Norwegian children
Author(s) -
Aaberg KM,
Eriksson AS,
RammPettersen J,
Nakken KO
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
acta paediatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1651-2227.2012.02834.x
Subject(s) - medicine , epilepsy , psychosocial , epilepsy surgery , norwegian , pediatrics , cognition , cohort , surgery , psychiatry , linguistics , philosophy
Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the long‐term results of resective surgery on children with difficult‐to‐treat epilepsy in Norway. Methods: In the period 1995–2004, 64 surgical procedures (54 resections and 10 functional hemispherotomies) were performed in 54 children. The children’s medical records were retrospectively reviewed at a minimum of 2 years after surgery. We sent a questionnaire regarding their epilepsy (seizures, usage of antiepileptic drugs) and general functioning (social situation, motor, language, cognition, behavioural or emotional problems, any remedial action) to the children/parents after a mean follow‐up period of 7 years. Results: 55.5% of the children were seizure‐free. The success rate varied according to the type of surgery. Best results were found after functional hemispherotomies and temporal lobe resections, as nine of 10 (90%) and 10 of 19 (53%) of these patients, respectively, became seizure‐free. In addition to a better seizure control, 71% of the children/parents reported of a better cognitive and psychosocial functioning. Conclusion: The results of epilepsy surgery in this paediatric cohort are very edifying, and it is our impression that this treatment option is underused in Norway.