The Present and Future of Laser Interstitial Thermal Therapy in Epilepsy Surgery

In the 15 years since the first patient with drug-resistant epilepsy was treated by MR-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT), it has revolutionized the surgical treatment of epilepsy. Therapeutic targets have ranged from every form of epileptogenic lesion, including mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS), hypothalamic hamartomas (HHs), malformations of cortical development, low-grade epilepsy-associated tumors, and cerebral cavernous malformations (CCM), to MRI-normal epileptogenic zones characterized by stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG), to disconnection surgeries such as corpus callosotomy and even functional hemispherotomy (FH). Many series now support the general effectiveness and safety of LITT for epilepsy, although we are still in the period where increasing experience and technical advances are driving refinement in the therapy. Here, we provide a broad survey of the landscape of LITT for epilepsy and a perspective on future developments.

The largest experience is with stereotactic laser amygdalohippocampotomy for mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE), leading to seizure freedom (Engel I) in 57% of patients (N = 554), less effective than anterior temporal lobectomy but with significantly improved cognitive outcomes. Seizure-free rates are about 10% higher for MTS, with lower rates in MRI-normal MTLE. The largest experience in epileptogenic lesions is with HH where a pooled analysis found 77% of patients became seizure-free (N = 374), with up to 93% of patients becoming free of gelastic seizures. Experience with other lesions is more limited, with seizure freedom in 59% of patients with focal cortical dysplasias (N = 37), 80% of patients with periventricular nodular heterotopias (N = 39), and 88% of patients with CCMs (N = 39); 54% of patients with cortical tubers achieved Engel I or II outcomes. Outcomes in patients undergoing stereotactic laser corpus callosotomy (N = 82) or FH (N = 6) are similar to the results of open surgery.

MR-guided LITT is becoming well established as a minimally invasive option for the treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy. While seizure freedom may in some circumstances be less than open resection, it offers improved therapeutic windows and, in some circumstances, provides surgical options where none existed previously. Moreover, it marries well with SEEG to offer a completely minimally invasive option. This combined with the increased therapeutic window and the lower level of surgical complications, pain, and even cost lowers the barrier to a potentially definitive surgical option for patients that have heretofore been reluctant. The future will see increased experience and technical advances in both laser technology and stereotactic delivery driving rapid global spread of LITT as a surgical tool in epilepsy.