Treatment of Drug-Resistant Epilepsy With Right-Sided Vagus Nerve Stimulation

Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) has been used as an adjunctive therapeutic option for drug-resistant epilepsy for decades. Traditionally, the left vagus nerve is used for stimulation, while the right vagus nerve is rarely used. The long-term efficacy and safety of the right VNS (R-VNS) in humans are unknown. We presented three patients who were treated with R-VNS over a follow-up period of up to eight years. All three patients tolerated R-VNS well with minimal complications. R-VNS displayed reasonable effectiveness in all three patients. One patient had an excellent response and became seizure-free. The other two patients demonstrated a less favorable response to R-VNS compared to their previous left VNS therapy.