Perioperative anesthetic implications of epilepsy surgery: a retrospective analysis

Drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) occurs in about 30 % of individuals with epilepsy. For seizure control, a wide range of surgical procedures are performed, depending on the underlying pathology. To address the anesthetic and perioperative concerns in these patients, we analyzed the data of persons with DRE who underwent epilepsy surgery at our institute.

A retrospective analysis of patients who underwent epilepsy surgery from 2005-2010 was performed. For data collection and analysis, patients were divided into three groups: Group I (temporal lobe epilepsy), Group II (extratemporal lobe epilepsy), and Group III (multilobar epilepsy and others).

A total of 241 surgical procedures were performed on 235 persons with DRE. The procedures included temporal (149) and extratemporal (47) lobe resection, hemispherotomy (31), corpus callosotomy (5), vagus nerve stimulation (3), and implantation of invasive cerebral electrodes (6). General anesthesia was the more common anesthetic technique; awake craniotomy was performed in only five cases. Intraoperative neuromonitoring was used most frequently in Group II. Patients in Group III had the longest intraoperative course and the greatest blood loss. The overall incidence of postoperative mechanical ventilation was 17.84 %, with 53.84 % of patients in Group III alone. At one-year follow-up, a good outcome was seen in 78 % of temporal lobe resection, 55 % of extratemporal cortical resection, 82 % of hemispherotomy, and 80 % of corpus callosotomy procedures.

Careful preoperative selection and meticulous perioperative management are the most significant factors for success of epilepsy surgery. Although temporal and extratemporal lobe surgeries have a fairly stable perioperative course, multilobar epilepsy requiring disconnective surgery poses a greater challenge.