Surgical Treatments, Devices, and Nonmedical Management of Epilepsy

Many patients with epilepsy are unable to achieve optimal seizure control with medical therapy. This article focuses on surgical approaches, dietary therapies, and seizure detection devices.

For more than a century, resective epilepsy surgery has been a treatment option for some patients with drug-resistant epilepsy. Other surgical options have emerged for patients for whom resection is not possible or is associated with unacceptable risks, including minimally invasive epilepsy surgery and neurostimulation therapies. Dietary therapies, such as the ketogenic diet, can also help improve seizure control, especially in children. For patients with ongoing nocturnal convulsive seizures, seizure detection devices can alert caregivers and potentially reduce the risk of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP).

Patients with drug-resistant epilepsy should be referred to comprehensive epilepsy centers to determine if they qualify for nonpharmacologic treatment options to reduce the risk of seizures and premature death and improve quality of life.