Vagal nerve stimulator implantation: An otolaryngologist’s perspective

Abstract

This study was conducted to compare an otolaryngologist's experience with a cohort of epilepsy patients implanted with a vagal nerve stimulator (VNS) to previously published data. Demographics, preoperative seizure frequency, medications, and complications were retrospectively collected from patients implanted by the senior author. Postoperative medications and seizure frequency were obtained from referring neurologists. Seventeen patients were implanted over a 24-month period. Average age was 28.3 years. Patients presented with petit mal (n = 3), tonic-clonic (n = 6), complex partial (n = 5), and grand mal (n = 8) seizures. Mean follow-up postimplantation was 13.5 months. Most patients had at least a 50% reduction of seizure frequency, with 3 patients being seizure free. There were no postoperative infections. One patient had left vocal cord immobility. The most common side effect was voice disturbance during device activation. Otolaryngologists are well equipped to perform VNS implantation and to diagnose and treat possible laryngeal side effects. C-4.