Lobar disconnective versus resective surgery in epilepsy: Surgical outcome and safety

Abstract

Epilepsy surgery is an alternative & potentially more beneficial treatment intervention for some patients with drug-resistant epilepsy. While earlier studies have demonstrated the benefit of respective surgeries, in terms of seizure control, there is a recent interest in disconnective surgeries, especially lobar disconnection, with an attempt to avoid or minimize the morbidity that was associated with respective surgeries. The aim of our study is to analyze the surgical outcome and safety of disconnective surgery in drug-resistant focal epilepsy arising from either the anterior or posterior head region over a period of ten years, & compare the results to patients undergoing respective surgery alone without disconnective surgery. Our objectives are to collect information on the two groups & compare them for postoperative seizure control & perioperative risks. Our study follows a quasi-experimental study design in a single-center, King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center, in Riyadh. Following the approval of our institute’s Institutional Review Board, the medical records from the last ten years were reviewed to identify eligible patients for the study. We identified a total of 117 patients who underwent disconnective surgery &/or resective surgery for focal drug resistant epilepsy. Final results of the study will be shared following abstract approval. There are no available published studies that compare lobar disconnective surgery to resective surgery as a treatment for focal drug-resistant epilepsy. We hope that our study would provide insight on the benefits of lobar disconnective surgery among all age groups.