Assessment and selection of candidates for surgical treatment of epilepsy

A variety of surgical strategies are available to deal with intractable epilepsy. These are resective operations, consisting of the removal of a focus or a discrete lesion, gross removal of malfunctioning brain, and functional operations consisting of division of the pathways of propagation or of an epileptic neuronal aggregate. A method of assessment for surgery involves investigation managed in phases, with the patient either being refused surgery, offered surgery or proceeding to the next phase. The place of the common modalities of investigation, e.g., clinical data, brain imaging, neurophysiological investigation, and neuropsychological assessment have a role in this phased management.