Epilepsy surgery

Epilepsy surgery aims to make people with epilepsy seizure-free. Patients are eligible for this surgery if they continue to experience seizures despite taking medication, and these seizures significantly impact their lives. The requirements are that the seizures clearly originate from a specific area of the brain. Furthermore, this area – the epilepsy focus – must be safely removed or deactivated without causing major damage, such as paralysis, speech or memory loss.

The potential effect of the surgery must therefore outweigh the risks. If the neurologist believes that epilepsy surgery could be a treatment option for your patient, a thorough and careful process is followed. The patient undergoes several preliminary tests over an extended period, including (multi-day) seizure monitoring, MRI scans, and neuropsychological testing.

Most of the preparatory tests and seizure monitoring take place at our center of expertise. The patient may need to visit Maastricht UMC+ or Amsterdam UMC for certain tests. The brain surgery itself will also be performed at Maastricht UMC+.

The process surrounding epilepsy surgery can be intensive and lengthy. At each step of the process, a special Epilepsy Surgery Working Group determines if there is enough chance of success to proceed. This group consists of medical specialists from epilepsy centers and academic hospitals. Together with the neurologist and a nurse specialist, the patient's willingness to continue is discussed at each stage of the process, and after receiving the 'green light' from the working group. After the brain surgery at the academic hospital, the patient returns to Kempenhaeghe for the aftercare process.

You can provide your patient with more information about the process and experiences with epilepsy surgery by showing a series of videos from the Academic Center for Epileptology, a collaboration between Kempenhaeghe and MUMC+.

Phase 0: Preparation for epilepsy surgery

Phase 1: Preliminary examinations at Kempenhaeghe

Phase 2: Follow-up research on epilepsy surgery

Phase 3A: Follow-up research with GRID monitoring

Phase 3B: Follow-up research using depth EEG

Phase 4: The brain surgery

Phase 5: The post-operative care process