151 Intracranial Magnetic Resonance Guided Laser Interstitial Thermal Therapy for Epilepsy: A Single Institution’s Experience of 226 Cases

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INTRODUCTION: Magnetic resonance guided laser interstitial thermal therapy (MRg-LITT) is a minimally invasive alternative to open surgical resection for epilepsy. Patient and technical factors associated with outcomes remain unclear. METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of consecutive patients undergoing MRg-LITT surgery at a single high-volume epilepsy center. Medical and surgical history, trajectory number per patient, adverse events, and outcomes up to 24 months were obtained and statistically analyzed. RESULTS: 203 patients underwent a total of 226 MRg-LITT procedures for epilepsy between 2011-2020. 52% and 55% of patients experienced seizure freedom at 12 and 24 months after ablation, respectively. Overall, patients with lesional epileptogenic foci were more likely to have better seizure control at 12- and 24-months after surgery (p < 0.05). Of cases performed with curative intent, patients with mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS) were most likely to maintain long-term seizure freedom. Ablations performed for disconnection (corpus callosotomy) or palliation of multifocal epilepsy were unlikely to provide complete seizure freedom. 6 cases (2.7%) were complicated by intra- or post-operative hemorrhage. 3 patients (1.5%) experienced persistent post-operative complaints including cranial nerve palsy and headaches. The odds of complication (minor or major vs none) were multiplied by 1.43 for each additional trajectory (95% CI [1.16, 1.76]), and by 1.04 for each additional 1cm3 of volume ablated (95% CI [1.008, 1.076]). CONCLUSIONS: MRg-LITT, a safe and effective approach to distinct epilepsy types, appears most persistently beneficial for lesional epilepsy, particularly MTS. Although serious complications were infrequent, adverse events were statistically correlated with multiple stereotaxic trajectories and larger ablation volumes. Our results provide additional guidance for patient counseling and surgical planning.