The Louisiana State University Comprehensive Epilepsy Program: procedures and outcomes

The first comprehensive epilepsy surgery center in Louisiana was established in 1990 at the Louisiana State University Medical Center in New Orleans by the Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery. The center performs a wide variety of diagnostic tests essential for the medical and surgical treatment of epilepsy including EEG and video monitoring, quantitative hippocampal MRI volumetry, ictal SPECT brain scanning, intracranial evoked potential and subdural stimulation functional mapping, neuropsychological evaluations, and intracarotid amobarbital (Wada) language and memory localization. Surgical interventions include (1) the placement of subdural strip and grid electrodes, depth electrodes, and foramen ovale electrodes, (2) temporal lobectomies, and (3) frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital lobe resections. From August 1990 through October 1995 41 patients with medically intractable seizures underwent neurosurgical procedures for epilepsy. Thirty-five patients had resective surgery, while six had only intracranial monitoring by subdural or intracerebral electrodes. The surgical outcomes thus far compare favorably with those of other established centers in North America.