Robot-assisted treatment of secondary epilepsy caused by parasitic infection: a case report

Cerebral sparganosis represents the most severe manifestation of sparganosis, with a relatively low global incidence. For cases of secondary epileptic seizures caused by sparganosis infection in the functional areas of the brain, what advanced neurosurgical techniques should be employed to precisely identify and excise the epileptic lesions in the deep functional areas of the brain, aiming to achieve maximal removal while minimising the risk of neurological deficits? This remains a current challenge for epilepsy surgeons.

A 24-year-old Chinese male was admitted to our hospital, presenting with a history of left limb twitching persisting for over a year. His main clinical symptoms presented twitching and numbness of his left limb without loss of consciousness. Under the premise of inappropriate anti-seizure treatment, recurrent epilepsy attacked persist. The patient's diagnosis was considered as "space-occupying lesions in the several lobes of brain, secondary epilepsy" after comprehensive assessment and discussion. And experts considered that the patient's space-occupying lesions in the right frontal and parietal lobes were highly suspected to be infected by parasites. This report delved into the application of neurosurgery robot-assisted frameless stereotaxic technology and intraoperative stereotactic electroencephalography (SEEG) monitoring technology to accurately locate and optimize removal of parasite-related epileptic lesions situated in functional areas of the brain. As a result, the patient had achieved seizure freedom, leaving no symptoms of neurological deficit.

With the highly integrated development of imaging technology, mechanical technology, computer control technology, and artificial intelligence, surgical robots are poised to play a larger role across various neurosurgical specialties in the future. Considering benefits for patients and the promising application of this technology, its utilization holds significant value.