Cavernoma-Associated Epilepsy Within the Mesial Temporal Lobe: Surgical Management and Seizure Outcome

We sought to explore a treatment protocol for patients with mesial temporal cerebral cavernoma (MTC)-associated epilepsy.

All MTC-associated epilepsy patients admitted to our center between January 2005 and December 2013 were analyzed. Seizure outcome for each presurgical epilepsy type was reported. The modified Engel classification was used to assess outcome. The neurologic outcome was scored by the modified Rankin Scale.

Fifty-three patients admitted to the center were seen by a functional electrocortigraphy (ECoG group) or vascular (non-ECoG group) neurosurgery team. There were 21 patients with drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE), 20 patients with chronic epilepsy (CE), and 12 patients with sporadic epilepsy (SE). The neurovascular team treated 37 (69.8%) patients, and the ECoG group treated 16 (30.2%) patients. All patients underwent a mean follow-up of 106.5 ± 29.1 months. Almost all SE patients (11/12, 91.7%) in both teams achieved seizure-free status at follow-up. In the CE group, the long-term seizure-free probability among patients in the ECoG and non-ECoG groups was (66.7%) and (52.9%), respectively. DRE patients in the ECoG group had a lower seizure relapse rate after surgery than those who underwent non-ECoG surgery (P = 0.042). Fifty-two patients (98.1%) complained of postsurgery memory loss. Seizure outcome in the first postoperative year was a reasonable predictor of long-term outcome.

A comprehensive preoperative and intraoperative assessment could help the patient with MTC-associated epilepsy choose a suitable surgical time and maximize the benefit between seizure control and cognition protection. The characters of intraoperative ECoG and postoperative seizure outcome at 1-year follow-up can predict a long-term epilepsy prognosis.