Deterioration of dyslexia after non-dominant temporal lobectomy for drug-resistant epilepsy

We present a patient with drug-resistant right-sided temporal lobe epilepsy, caused by a ganglioglioma of the parahippocampal gyrus. Preoperatively, the patient was also known to have dyslexia. A right-sided anterior temporal lobectomy, including complete lesionectomy, was performed. Several months after the otherwise uncomplicated procedure, the patient complained about visual memory disturbances, accompanied by increased reading and spelling problems. Postoperative neuropsychological examination revealed deterioration of the visual memory functions, compared to the preoperative assessment, and consequently provided a possible explanation for worsening of the pre-existing dyslexia. In this case report, we hypothesize on the cause of this unusual deterioration and present recommendations to be included in the preoperative epilepsy surgery evaluation for patients with verbal or reading disorders such as dyslexia.