Epilepsy surgery is any type of brain surgery where parts of the brain are removed, disconnected, or stimulated to stop seizures. There are many different types of epilepsy surgeries. Which procedure is used depends upon the type of seizures presented, where they are localized in the brain, and the training and experience of the neurosurgeon.
Curative surgery
The purpose of these procedures is to stop the seizures completely. They include:
Lobectomy (single or multiple lobes)
Posterior quadrant resection or disconnection (also known as temporoparietaloccipital disconnection or TPO)
Stereotactic radiosurgery (Gamma Knife®, Cyber Knife®, stereotactic radiofrequency thermocoagulation, laser-induced thermal therapy, OR MRI-guided focused ultrasound ablation)
Laser ablation (Visualase)
Palliative surgery
There are other procedures which are not intended to stop the seizures completely, but are instead aim to stop the seizures after they begin or reduce the number of seizures. These are known as palliative procedures. They include:
